The Transformation of Matt Lindstrom

Matt Lindstrom, currently a reliever for the Colorado Rockies, had a profoundly mediocre year for the Houston Astros last year. His ERA was 4.39 and his WAR was .3, which gave him a WASP of 5416.7. It was no surprise at all that the Astros didn't bring him back. For the Rockies this year, he has been much better, a 3.06 ERA with a 1.2 WAR. Even after the bad year of last year, the Rockies still paid Lindstrom more than he made in 2010. In fact, he is making nearly twice as much. However, his WASP is still a decent 2750. What are the reasons for this change? Well, there could be several. For one, he appears to be more healthy this year, he spent some time on the DL last year for the Astros, and didn't appear to be the same pitcher down the stretch and was yanked from the closer position. Statistically, Lindstrom was more of a strikeout pitcher last year, with 7.26 K's per 9 innings (5.94 K's per innings this year). He has walked less people though (2.52bb per 9 innings this year, and 3.38bb per 9 innings last year), and when people put the ball in play, they have done a lot less damage this year (.358 Batting Average on Balls in Play last year and a BABIP of .283 this year). The Astros sure could have used this year's Matt Lindstrom last year or this year.