Last year Jeff Niemann had a pretty solid rookie campaign, logging an ERA under 4 at 3.94, and a nice 1.35 WHIP to go with it.  While his K:BB was only at 2.12, he did rack up 125 Ks in his 180.2 innings of work.  This Spring, however, dude has been a machine.  He has driven that K:BB up to 7.33, going 22/3 with K/BB so far.  Niemann is set to take another step forward this year, and even though he plays in the AL East he is a terrific fantasy option. 

My advice is to keep Niemann on your radar on draft day, and to watch him after the draft if you did not nab him.  His projections all show him to be very similar in 2010 to where he was in 2009, except for PECOTA which thinks he takes a step backwards and logs an ERA of 4.72 with 125 Ks.  Bill James, meanwhile, thinks Niemann will also have a higher ERA at 4.46, but he has Niemann slotted for 171 Ks.  That is a wide variance, which tells me that maybe no one knows what to expect from dude.  Me?  I expect him to have double digit wins, and ERA just under 4 and about 150 Ks.  I'll take that in a heartbeat, at the right value of course.