The legend of Ubaldo Jimenez continues to grow, as the ace of the Rockies' staff became the first pitcher since CC Sabathia in July/August 2008 to win back-to-back NL Pitcher of the Month titles. Hat tip to nkrause and Steve Foster for the story.
Jimenez went 5-1 with a 0.78 ERA in May, pitching 46 innings. That translates to 4 runs allowed in six starts in the month. He gave up only 24 hits and 12 walks in those innings, striking out 39 men in the process and making them look silly in the process. Not to mention that he's only the third pitcher in the live ball era with ten wins in his first eleven starts and an ERA below 1.00.
Looking at his season in terms of value, Jimenez ranks first in terms of Baseball Reference WAR with 3.8 (4.1 pitching, -0.3 hitting) and second in Fangraphs WAR with 2.9. He also leads the league in pitcher WPA with 3.27 -- .72 in front of anybody else. Sans Ubaldo, the Rockies are a mere 18-23 this year, so he's been pretty valuable in that sense too.
I could go on at great length about the awesomeness of Jimenez, but you already know.
Rockies fans, we're looking at something historically great this year from Ubaldo. My advice to you is to witness, savor, and remember his greatness.