Sean Burnett pitches in relief for the Washington Nationals. He split time with the Pirates and Nationals in 2009, his best season in terms of ERA. After posting a walk rate of 5.4 BB per Nine IP in 2008, Burnett followed that up with 4.4 BB per nine IP in 2009. What really made a difference, however, was the few hits he allowed despite no change in his strikeout rate (6.7 per nine in 2008, 6.7 per nine in 2009).

Not surprisingly, there is a huge difference between his 2009 ERA and his 2009 FIP, 1.45 runs. Part of that is explained by his excellent work with men on base, especially in scoring position. In any situation with a runner on third last year, opponents were just three for 24 with seven RBI. That is in turn explained by a .201 BABIP, which I would expect to be pretty unsustainable over a long period of time.

Fewer walks in 2009 was a good sign for Burnett, but don’t expect him to continue to be unhittable. I suspect he was very lucky in 2009. Even if he’s only slightly lucky in 2010, his ERA should go up.