Tigers left handed starter Nate Robertson is the Tiger to stick around Michigan during the winter according to this Detroit Free Press report. It’s nice to see someone sticks around.
In a lot of ways, Nate Robertson could be the most important pitcher in the rotation. People expect a lot from Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander and I don’t think anyone expects a repeat from 2006 out of Kenny Rogers so having Robertson throwing like he did last year would go a long way towards another 90+ win season.Â
PECOTA doesn’t seem to expect much from Robertson in 2007. His weighted mean average is only a 1.40 WHIP with a 4.41 ERA. They also expect a stablization in his strikeout rate (5.4/9 innings, which matches his 2005 total and is just under his 5.6/9 that he had last year). If he could nail his 75th percentile though, which is a 1.34 WHIP and a 3.93 ERA and a 5.6/9 strikeout rate, I’d be pretty happy. The one nice thing about his PECOTA card is he has a very lose collapse rate (8%) but a very high improve rate (60%) so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise if Robertson beats that weighted mean average line.
Robertson’s most comparable player is 1960s White Sox starter Gary Peters.  Not too shabby because Peters did eventually win 20 games with a pretty solid ERA but only a good strikeout rate.
I Am looking for Nate Robertson to have a Excellent year
--Posted by pete on February 1st, 2007 at 4:59 pm