Jason Marquis Wins Again for Colorado Rockies

Jason Marquis is a stunning 4-1 with a 3.31 ERA for the Colorado Rockies this season, and fantasy owners have picked him up and found him to be a serviceable pitcher to date.

The Colorado Rockies have not had reliable starting pitching for years, and on the surface, it looks like Marquis could turn it around for them.  However, there are a few warning signs that point to diminished success with them in the future.  Let’s take a look at the pitcher that is hardly a marquee name.

Historically, Marquis has had a fairly weak skill set, and this year is no different.  He has always had a low strikeout rate (4.5-5 batters per nine innings), and his walks have always been on the high side as well (about 3-4 batters per nine innings).  The strikeout-to-walk ratio is all you really have to look at to realize that Marquis is hardly the pitcher he has shown to date.

K/BB by year

2006: 4.4/3.5 = 6.02 ERA

2007: 5.1/3.6 = 4.60 ERA

2008: 5.1/3.6 = 4.53 ERA

2009: 4.3/3.1 = 3.31 ERA

Simply put, his 2009 skill set looks very similar to that of past years, and his ERA is mightily inflated to date.

One of the positive things about Marquis is that about 48% of the hits he gave up were ground balls—but that is about the extent of the good on this guy.

If you own Marquis in any of your leagues, you may want to try to sell high on this guy, as a correction is inevitable.  Toss in the fact that he pitches in hitter-friendly Coors Field, and it makes him a must-sell.

Marquis is only rosterable in the deepest of leagues as an innings-eater.