Graph of the Day: The Turbulent Career of Rich Hill

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FB/100 from Fangraphs Pitch Type Linear Weights

Rich Hill is one of a group of young players let go by Jim Hendry and the Chicago Cubs last winter, along with Felix Pie and Ronny Cedeno.  Hill's always been known for a powerful, big breaking curveball.  At age 29, Hill may be too old to be considered a prospect, but he is a low-risk acquisition given his pre-arbitration status.  He flashed signs of productivity in 2006 and 2007, with sub-5 FIPs leading to 4.4 wins in that time frame.  He just plain lost his fastball in 2008, though, leading to a spike in walks, and similarly, FIP.  Although the walks are still up this year, the home runs are down and the fastball has been a positive for Hill.  If he can return to 2006-2007 levels, he could be a very valuable acquisition for a very talented and young Baltimore Orioles team.