2009 FBS Breakout Player: Jon Lester

Jon Lester is an outstanding mjor league pitcher. I'm sure many of you have heard his story of beating cancer and coming back. In his short career he has won World Series games, battled the Yankees head on in the biggest rivalry in sports, and he's thrown a no-hitter. It should come to no surprise that after we called him a sleeper last year, in 2009 he is a breakout player. Lester has great stuff and is developing into one of the most dominating left-handed pitchers in the league. In 2008 he handled righties alright, but absolutely dominate lefties with his cut fastball, fastball, and electric curveball. At 25 years old, Lester is hitting his prime and is firing on all cylinders. Last year was his first full season with 210 innings in the book. He finished 16-6 with 152 Ks. He pitched consistently well throughout the season, but was far weaker on the road at 5-5. We feel that Lester is poised for a huge 2008 in the 2nd or 3rd slot in the Red Sox rotation. As long has he stays healthy, he will battle for the Cy Young award and he will win 20 games. As he continues to master his pitches, his K rate will go up and his WHIP will go down. We have high hoped for this kid and he will be one of the surprise pitchers for 2009.

The True Guru Jon Lester Projections: 3.12 ERA, 20-8 rec, 1.17 WHIP, 168K

We feel he will achieve these projections through our formula based on our secret formula of 11 herbs and spices (its locked at Fort Knox). Of course we are assuming he stays relatively healthy for the entire season.
For the complete list of 2009 breakouts, please visit our breakouts page.