Pick 9.11 - 203rd Overall

Kirk Rueter - SF SP
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rueteki01.shtml

The self-induced boycott on pitching has come to an end.  I waited 203 picks to pull the trigger on a hurler, and ended up with Kirk Rueter as my top guy.  There was a bit of confusion in the draft process.  I had originally selected Russ Ortiz, which is the guy I really wanted.  Had him in the fold only to have another owner claim he actually meant to draft him two picks ahead of me.  Commish sided with the other owner, so Ortiz gets shipped and into the fold comes Rueter.

I view Rueter as more of a middle of the rotation guy.  He solid if unspectacular.  Never an All-Star.  Never the staff "ace".  He's a guy who just went about his business every fifth day, and did so for quite a few years.  From 1997-2004, he had at least 31 starts every year except one, and in 2003 he had 27.  He won double-digits in each of those years except 2004.  For our kickoff point, the year 2000, he started 31 games with a 3.96 ERA.  A left-hander, he possessed one of the best pickoff moves in the game.  Nobody tried to steal against Kirk, and if they did, they were usually unsuccessful.  In 2000, only six tried, with only one a success.  2001 saw 12 attempt with three a success.  2002 seven and two.  Combine him with I-Rod and the opposing team's running game is effectively shutdown!

Still several arms out there to fill out my rotation.  No Big Units but serviceable guys for sure.  That's the strategy for the next few rounds.