Closing Time: Clay Buchholz mows them down; Nate McLouth runs onto your roster (Roto Arcade)

We’re still in April and the caveats about small-sample size remain. But at some point a fast start turns into a good season. When is it okay to fully buy into Boston right-hander Clay Buchholz
Buccholz won his fifth consecutive start Thursday against the Astros, turning in 7.2 superb innings (6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 10 K). Have a look at the scouting video , see what you make of it. Obviously no one mistakes the 2013 Astros for the 1927 Yankees (and they strike out at a ridiculous clip), but they are 13th in the majors in runs. Houston’s crummy record is driven by the awful pitching staff, worst in the majors thus far.
Back in The Hub, take a look at that snappy Buchholz resume . He’s worked at least seven innings in every turn, he flirted with a no-hitter against Tampa Bay two weeks ago, and he’s striking out better than a batter per inning. His WHIP is a tidy 1.01, the ERA a silly 1.19. Perhaps this is a career year at age 28.
Outlier ERAs are going to come with some outlier stats in the luck categories , that’s to be understood. A 3.7 FB/HR clip immediately comes to mind, not to mention a 90.2 strand rate. That said, Buchholz makes a lot of his own luck with a 47.7 ground-ball rate, and the BABIP against him is a reasonable .264 – not too far below his career mark of .281.