Line of the Day: Vance Worley: July 26th, 2011

Vance Worley pitched a three-hitter, allowing two runs, a walk and striking out five to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. It was his fifth straight win and first career complete game. (video recap)

Line: 9 IP | 3 H | 2 ER | 1 BB | 5 K; W | QS | CG

(box score)

My fantasy perspective: Worley is 5-0 in his last five starts with a 1.24 ERA. Batters are hitting just .148 with a .179 BABIP over that span. He's allowed just 18 hits over those 36.1 innings pitched with a 27/11 K/BB ratio (6.73 K/9). It helps that he's throwing 67% of his pitches for strikes, too.

There are some numbers to be concerned with, like a very low overall ERA of 2.02 but a nearly-double xFIP of 3.99 with an 80.5 LOB%. Also, his 18.2 K% and 9.3 BB% translate to a 1.96 K/BB ratio.

Worley's ownership numbers are all over the place (93% ESPN; 58% Yahoo!; 86% CBS), so check your league's waiver wire to see if he's somehow available. There's no reason to believe he can't be an effective starter for the Phillies the rest of the way, it's just hard to believe he will continue to be THIS good.

Question: Who's the odd man out of the starting rotation when Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton return: Kyle Kendrick, Worley or Blanton?

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