Spring Training Pitcher's Power Poll: Week 1

Without going into the same long introduction I did for the Hitter's Power Poll earlier today, if you have no idea what you're reading right now, go back and read this post first.

Okay, caught up? Good, let's move forward.

Much like the hitters, I ranked the pitchers based on statistics I feel are important for a pitcher to be successful, applying points to each statistic, some weighted more than others. Now, given the fact that pitchers aren't in their normal role during the spring, you shouldn't take these rankings all that seriously.

Still, they could serve as an indicator of which pitchers are more likely to grab those open spots in the bullpen and rotation.

RANK	PLAYER	POINTS	LW	+/-
1	Hector Santiago	19	NA	NA
2	Nathan Jones	14	NA	NA
3	Phil Humber	13	NA	NA
4	Brian Bruney	11	NA	NA
5	Eric Stults	10	NA	NA
6	Pedro Hernandez	9	NA	NA
6	Chris Sale	9	NA	NA
8	Deunte Heath	8	NA	NA
8	Leyson Septimo	8	NA	NA
10	Jhan Marinez	7	NA	NA
10	Jesse Crain	7	NA	NA
10	Anthony Carter	7	NA	NA
10	Zach Stewart	7	NA	NA
14	Jose Quintana	6	NA	NA
14	Gregory Infante	6	NA	NA
14	Charlie Leesman	6	NA	NA
14	Will Ohman	6	NA	NA
14	Donnie Veal	6	NA	NA
14	Nestor Molina	6	NA	NA
20	Matt Thornton	5	NA	NA
20	Dylan Axelrod	5	NA	NA
22	Addison Reed	3	NA	NA
23	Brandon Kloess	1	NA	NA
23	Jake Peavy	1	NA	NA
23	John Danks	1	NA	NA
26	Simon Castro	-1	NA	NA
27	Brian Omogrosso	-4	NA	NA

An important thing to remember when looking at these rankings is that innings pitched are definitely a part of the formula, as being on the mound to eat innings has its value. It's just that at this point in the spring, with starters only going for an inning or two, everybody has a similar amount of innings pitched. So if you've had a bad inning or two, you're going to find yourself at the bottom pretty easily.

All that being said, Hector Santiago, Nathan Jones, Brian Bruney, Eric Stults and Pedro Hernandez are all doing their part to earn spots on the roster when camp breaks, and it shows in these rankings.