A lot of people are expecting a breakthrough season for Bedard. He's got the stuff. Health has been a problem so far. He was dominant for nine starts (well, eight of them) before getting hurt last season and coming back to earth after his return. He went down with a 2.08 ERA and ended the season at 4 on the button.
Still, that was above league average over his 24 starts. Bedard has posted a 104 park-adjusted ERA+ the last two seasons, though his 2005 was more convincing than his 2004, as he got his WHIP way down thanks to both improved walk and hits against numbers.
Here are Bedard's numbers the last two seasons:
GS IP ERA WHIP BB K HR
2004 BAL 26 137.3 4.59 1.60 71 121 13
2005 BAL 24 141.7 4.00 1.38 57 125 10
That's the line: GS, IP, ERA, WHIP, BB, K, HR. I'm very interested to see where everyone is standing with Bedard.