Chris Capuano has been $$$

Make that, money well spent.

After quietly signing a two-year, $10 million contract this offseason, Chris Capuano has rewarded the Dodgers with a perfect 5-0 record and 2.06 ERA.  Not too shabby for a guy projected to be the fourth or fifth starter.  Forget that - he looks like the staff ace.

As the season has slowly chipped away, Capuano has gotten better and better.  Just how good has he been?  Take a look at his career numbers: 62-64, 4.29 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .263 BAA, and 846 K's in 1007 1/3 innings pitched.  Last season, he was 11-11 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.

All of that looks like an aberration right now, as he has used his variety of pitches to constantly keep batters off balance.  He's not afraid to pound the inside part of the plate against righties, and his off-speed stuff has been incredible.  Simply put, he shows no fear on the mound, no matter how big and bad the batters are.  You hear that, Chad Billingsley?  Show no fear and go after those guys!

Perhaps the most satisfying part about watching Capuano is knowing just how much adversity he's gone through in his career.  I'm not sure it's too uncommon anymore to hear about pitchers having Tommy John surgery, but twice?  Not as much, and that's exactly what he's had in 2002 and 2008.  It's been four years since the second one, and his arm looks as strong as ever.  Talk about that procedure being a Fountain of Youth.

Fair or not, when a pitcher puts up numbers that far exceed his career stats, the natural question to be asked is if he can can keep it up or not.  Well, I'm not sure he can win five of every seven starts (two no-decisions thrown in there), but I like his chances of maintaining his effectiveness.  If you recall, his first start on April 7 in San Diego was going well until he started walking everybody in the fifth.

How did he respond to that?  By winning his next time out against the Pirates, giving up two runs in just over five innings, striking out seven.  And from there, he's taken off and hasn't looked back.  After taking a no-decision against his old team in Milwaukee, he's now won four straight, defeating the Braves, Nationals, Cubs, and Rockies.  In that span, he's surrendered a mere 2 runs in 27 2/3 innings, good for a 0.65 ERA.  Throw in 24 strikeouts and 8 walks, and you can see how much stronger his arm has become.

While the attention has mostly been on Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier (who completely deserve that attention, by the way), let's not overlook guys like Capuano, who plays hard each time out and leads by example.  If he can pitch anywhere close to this as the season rolls on, then the Dodgers will realize their playoff dreams for the first time in three years. 

Bank on it.