(Courtesy of Anthony Gruppuso/US Presswire)
There wasn't much hype when the Yankees signed Cory Wade to a MiL deal last June. He had already been let go by the Dodgers and Rays in less than a year and hadn't pitched all that well the last time he found himself in a Major League bullpen (5.53/4.40/5.03 slash for the Dodgers in '09). He was basically a low-risk, scrap heap pickup for the Yankees during a time when they needed bullpen depth; a guy who could hopefully eat innings while they waited for Rafael Soriano to get healthy.
Once he put on the pinstripes, though, Wade did more than just eat innings. He posted a solid 2.04/3.76/3.80 line in 39.2 IP for the Yankees and became a reliable piece down the stretch to cover the middle innings, earning himself a new contract for 2012 in the process. It was only natural to assume that Wade's performance would regress this season thanks to his unsustainably high strand rate from 2011 (91.2%) and his low strikeout numbers, but here we are 5 weeks into the 2012 season and Wade finds himself as arguably the best pitcher in the bullpen.
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