I was going to start this post about Dillon Gee by making fun of how to pronounce his name but MLB did a great job of that already. And by ‘did a great job’ I mean they set up a fun premise and Gee acted like what he was – an athlete put in front of a camera who can’t convey humor. Hey, we can’t all be Peyton Manning. Sorry for cross-pollinating your sports worlds, Razzball, but you see I am Sky from the Fantasy Football side so you’re just going to have to deal with it. I’ll lay the BABIP on you just as frequently as I lay the YAC cuz I got game and I bring the swag, bro! #YOLO! Sorry, thought I was a frat boy there for a minute. Now let me channel my inner deep pitcher caller like I did last year with another Met, Jon Niese, and see if I can get you all geed out about Gee for 2013 fantasy baseball…
Truthfully, I don’t know how long Gee is gonna stay a secret. Truthfully part deux, I don’t think he should be so I’d hope it stays short-lived. Truthfully Three: The End Of The Trilogy, I don’t know when you’re going to see this but I’m writing it in early January of 2013 in my Finding Nemo footie PJ’s so even if you don’t read this until late February you heard it hear first! There’s a lot to like about Dillon from his 2012 season. He had a whopping 6 wins, a 4.10 ERA and only gave you 109.2 IP…hrm, I think I got my ‘lot to like’ mixed up with my ‘lot to hate’. Gee went down with a shoulder injury in July which was effectively the end to his season. Normally hearing ‘shoulder injury’ and ‘fantasy sleeper pitcher’ don’t go well together but hear me out. Gee’s injury was a blood clot in his shoulder and it wasn’t what knocked him out for the year but the elective surgery afterwards to prevent further blood clots from happening. In that respect, the surgery was a preventative measure and should be viewed as such when draft day comes. So now that we’re no longer concerned with the injury, let’s discuss Gee’s goods. Dillon had a 7.96 K/9 rate in 2012 and a 3.34 K:BB ratio to go with a 21% K percentage. In viewing those stats, I’m asking you to ignore his previous major league stints and refer back to his minor league AAA numbers. They’re nearly identical so this skill set isn’t coming from nowhere. The other thing to notice is his xFIP of 3.54. He started off the year with a rough Mar/Apr, smacking him around with a .350 BABIP and a 4.85 ERA. Considering that was nearly 1/3rd of his season’s stats, his 4.10 ending ERA doesn’t look quite as bad in hindsight. When you consider Niese had a 3.64 xFIP and Grey’s 2013 Matt Harvey fantasy wunderkind had it at 3.49, we’re seeing a true discount on a guy who could give a similar line when it’s all said and done. So if you’re into finding an ERA of 3.50 to 3.75 with 160 K in 180 innings that’s currently going behind Clayton Richards by 20 spots – current ADP of 269 – it’s time to say to yourself: Gee whiz, Dillon Gee is a steal this year! And please do it in a either a Wally or ‘the Beav’ voice for good measure.
