Not sure where else to comment on this, but kudos to the BP staff for nailing the trade deadline coverage. Great information, timely information, and a spit-take inducing anecdote about a season-ticket holder calling a GM in a last-ditch effort to save his NL-only fantasy team. Good stuff all around.

Looking at his Pitch f/x pitcher profile, Blanton throws his change 19% of the time. This is a pretty high frequency. I remember back in the 2010 Bill James Goldmine, Bill (writing about Javy Vaszquez) attributed some of his issues (despite high K to BB ratios) to how he overused his change which tends to elicit hard contact. Sam, do you think this is also the case with Blanton?

Blanton being the "worst pitcher on that list" isn't really a reflection on his lack of skill so much as the distinguished names on the list, much the way last year being the 5th best starter on his team was nothing to be ashamed of given the team had Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels. As a Tigers fan I'd happily take Blanton over every starter not named Justin Verlander (especially the new kid Sanchez we grossly overpaid for) and while this year's k/bb ratio is an abberation, the last guy to graduate from med school is still a doctor and the worst pitcher with a k/bb ratio over 3 is still a guy I want taking the ball every fifth day for my team in the regular season and every third game in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Phillies

Acquired ??-? P.T. BNL from the Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Joe Blanton. [8/4]

Signed out of North America in the 20th or 21st century, the appropriately-aged P.T. BNL is one of those players whose greatest strength might be his lack of identity and definition. He might have a good idea at the plate or a quick bat; he could use all fields and project as a sub-.400 hitter in the big leagues. He may have gap power now, and there could potentially be scouts believing that those skills will turn into solid average power down the road if he fills out or slims down, with 0-60 home run potential. He could be a good athlete or an average runner, demonstrate revealing platoon splits, or be an easy plus defender with a strong arm. Really, we can’t forget that he might feature a solid change-up that could play up with his command, or that he might possess a good feel for a breaking ball that bodes well for his development. He might be raw, but, for all we know, he might look really good in a uniform.

Keep in mind, I could soon hear from sources in the Dodgers’ organization that they really hate to part with this guy, and, assuming he is a pitcher, that if he were to be a pitcher and then not work out on the mound, there would always be a chance he could convert to another position, where he may have had some success in high school, college, or an appropriate Latin country’s winter or fall league. That’s the brilliance of it: we don’t know. Even if he’s a bit on the small side or a little unathletic, which would hurt his projection if he was, he could look like he should be a solid-average everyday fielder or fourth starter or fan-favorite grinder if his development stays on track, although his relative age and size might one day cause him to move off his position for a suitably adjacent position slightly down the defensive spectrum or move to the bullpen.

I have already been asked numerous times on Twitter about when P.T. BNL might see time on the Phillies’ roster, but, realize, there are a lot of factors that go into a move like that, including the position he plays, his age, his assigned level, his health, his attitude, his native country and language, his VISA situation, and the Phillies’ overall roster health. All I will say is this: if the players at his position in the level above him allow for a move, the Phillies may look to promote him. And, yes, you could point to his potentially awesome, middling, or atrocious stats in rookie ball (if he played there), but those stats are all but meaningless—especially if he is particularly old or young for the level, or repeating it. –Kevin Goldstein

Just like every other statistic in baseball, old or new. K/BB is an important stat, but does not tell the whole story in isolation. Yes, K/BB has gotten a lot of popularity and is a great stat to predict future success, but not without also looking at Swing and Miss Percentage, Strikeout Rate, walk rate, etc. A perfect pitcher, to me, is one that has a solid K/BB rate while maintaining a K/9 of 7 or higher (Blanton's career hovers around 6), and a Line Drive rate below 17.5% (Blanton's is about 20%) and Home Run to fly ball rate below 8% (Blanton's is around 10%).

Looking at all of these numbers, though, Joe Blanton does not have anything that stands out as overly bad. If nothing else, he can be seen as solid and consistent, and given how variable major league pitchers have become, one can be called much worse.

Even in the world of professional baseball when pitchers are respected for their fastball velocity and strike-out pitches, there will always be a job for someone who can pound the strike zone and get consistent results. Sure, Blanton may not be the guy you want starting a playoff game, but if you do not have any options you feel good about and you need someone to throw a solid game and give your offense a chance, Blanton is great to fill that hole.