Here is another addition to our pretenders and contenders story line. As you can see there are some definite contenders (Lincecum) that are just getting robbed out on the baseball diamond. Others, like Volquez and Wolf, are getting luckier than they should. A new category that you should pay attention to is FIP, which is basically what there ERA should be. The formal definition is "Fielding Independent Pitching, a measure of all those things for which a pitcher is specifically responsible. The formula is (HR*13+(BB+HBP-IBB)*3-K*2)/IP, plus a league-specific factor (usually around 3.2) to round out the number to an equivalent ERA number. FIP helps you understand how well a pitcher pitched, regardless of how well his fielders fielded." Anyways, here is the current list of Pretenders and Contenders.
Pretenders
| Name | Team | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | HR/9 | AVG | WHIP | BABIP | LOB% | ERA | FIP | E-F | |
| Edinson Volquez | Reds | 8.32 | 5.73 | 1.45 | 1.11 | .189 | 1.29 | .220 | 73.8 % | 4.25 | 5.19 | -0.94 | |
| Matt Garza | Rays | 7.50 | 3.83 | 1.96 | 0.83 | .191 | 1.09 | .224 | 71.7 % | 3.50 | 4.09 | -0.59 | |
| Brian Tallet | Blue Jays | 6.59 | 4.46 | 1.48 | 1.49 | .217 | 1.28 | .227 | 70.8 % | 4.68 | 5.47 | -0.79 | |
| Jered Weaver | Angels | 6.79 | 2.10 | 3.23 | 1.13 | .207 | 0.97 | .228 | 84.1 % | 2.59 | 4.10 | -1.51 | |
| Chris Volstad | Marlins | 6.70 | 2.98 | 2.25 | 1.49 | .222 | 1.14 | .236 | 75.9 % | 3.35 | 4.94 | -1.59 | |
| Johnny Cueto | Reds | 6.94 | 2.51 | 2.77 | 0.77 | .205 | 1.01 | .239 | 89.6 % | 1.93 | 3.69 | -1.76 | |
| Doug Davis | Diamondbacks | 6.26 | 2.86 | 2.19 | 1.61 | .233 | 1.17 | .241 | 86.5 % | 3.22 | 5.17 | -1.95 | |
| John Maine | Mets | 6.47 | 5.36 | 1.21 | 0.67 | .209 | 1.34 | .242 | 69.5 % | 4.24 | 4.68 | -0.44 | |
| Randy Wolf | Dodgers | 7.35 | 3.04 | 2.42 | 0.80 | .205 | 1.07 | .242 | 75.5 % | 2.72 | 3.75 | -1.04 | |
Contenders
| Name | Team | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | HR/9 | AVG | WHIP | BABIP | LOB% | ERA | FIP | E-F | |
| Justin Verlander | Tigers | 12.34 | 3.04 | 4.06 | 0.54 | .233 | 1.19 | .354 | 60.6 % | 4.29 | 2.39 | 1.90 | |
| Kevin Slowey | Twins | 6.56 | 0.75 | 8.75 | 1.50 | .324 | 1.44 | .362 | 78.2 % | 4.50 | 4.24 | 0.26 | |
| Josh Beckett | Red Sox | 8.69 | 4.34 | 2.00 | 0.94 | .294 | 1.66 | .366 | 64.4 % | 5.85 | 4.17 | 1.69 | |
| Carl Pavano | Indians | 6.75 | 2.11 | 3.20 | 1.05 | .318 | 1.55 | .366 | 62.3 % | 6.33 | 4.09 | 2.24 | |
| Andy Sonnanstine | Rays | 5.36 | 3.12 | 1.71 | 1.12 | .338 | 1.79 | .371 | 59.1 % | 7.36 | 4.76 | 2.61 | |
| Gavin Floyd | White Sox | 7.11 | 4.67 | 1.52 | 1.22 | .324 | 1.87 | .375 | 59.5 % | 7.71 | 5.03 | 2.69 | |
| Scott Olsen | Nationals | 6.37 | 3.95 | 1.61 | 1.76 | .342 | 1.90 | .375 | 62.9 % | 7.24 | 5.66 | 1.58 | |
| Ricky Nolasco | Marlins | 7.56 | 2.59 | 2.92 | 1.30 | .330 | 1.68 | .387 | 52.7 % | 7.78 | 4.35 | 3.43 | |
| Jon Lester | Red Sox | 10.34 | 3.06 | 3.38 | 1.91 | .312 | 1.62 | .389 | 68.3 % | 6.51 | 4.77 | 1.74 | |
| Tim Lincecum | Giants | 11.80 | 2.86 | 4.13 | 0.18 | .260 | 1.31 | .392 | 68.6 % | 3.75 | 1.87 | 1.88 | |
