There is an unheralded story of the year that is not receiving enough press.

And no, I'm not talking about the screamo band circa 2003, Story of the Year. They were far too heralded.

I'm talking about a man with a perpetual five o'clock shadow; a man who fidgets like he's standing on an ant hill rather than a pitcher's mound; a man who can often be seen with goofy facial expressions in the bullpen; a man who shares a surname with one of the most highly touted young pitchers in baseball.

I'm talking about Taylor Buchholz, owner of the best ERA and the best WHIP of any pitcher on the Colorado Rockies.

Once upon a time, in the year 2000, Buchholz was drafted in the sixth round out of Springfield High School in Springfield, Pa. Drafted before him were Mike Stodalka, Justin Wayne, Matt Wheatland and the Rockies' first round pick, Matt Harrington.

Not one of them has made the major leagues and all were in the first eight picks of the draft.

After signing with the Phillies, Buchholz went through several unspectacular years as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, where he posted a 3.92 ERA. There is, however, one notable minor league stat that has accompanied Buchholz no matter where he has gone -- an impressive 2.75 walks per nine innings.

Buchholz eventually made his major league debut in 2006 with the Astros at the age of 24.

In that first year, he was far from unspectacular (read: awful). He gave up a Brett Myers-esque 21 home runs in 113 innings.

Yet, probably because of a lack of starting pitching depth, Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd asked for Buchholz to be a throw-in in the Jason Jennings for Willy Taveras and Jason Hirsh deal.

While Willy Taveras hasn't shown much offensive ability and Jason Hirsh has struggled with his command, Buchholz is slowly becoming the gem of the deal.

Buchholz commands a four pitch arsenal with a fastball that averages 91.9 mph, a curveball that Rockies color commentator George Frazier affectionately refers to as a "yellow snapdragon hook," a slider and a change-up.

Those are the prototypical weapons of a starting pitcher. Starting pitcher, however, is not necessarily Buchholz's ideal role.

In 2007, after eight starts and a hard to stomach 5.98 ERA, the Rockies asked Buchholz to move to the bullpen, where Buchholz posted an eerily disparate 2.70 ERA.

It was in that role that Buchholz stayed for the 2008 season and has, surprisingly enough, enjoyed it.

While most starters who are converted to relievers are unhappy about it, Buchholz has said several times that he prefers his relief pitching and his stats certainly back that up.

This year, as a reliever, Buchholz has a 1.61 ERA, an unholy 0.87 WHIP, and has struck out 7.97 batters per nine innings, the highest since his first year in rookie league.

Meanwhile, he continues to walk almost nobody and has dropped his 1.67 HR/9 in 2006 to a very good 0.54 HR/9 -- Brett Myers, no more.

The recipe for success is partly how he knows he can let it go when he is only required for an inning or two. His success can also be attributed to his pitch selection.

As of 2008, he no longer uses his change up and only occasionally breaks out the slider. With Buchholz only having to face a batter once, he doesn't need to vary his pitches and speeds as much, allowing him to use his most dominant pitches.

He now throws his fastball (which has increased velocity to an average speed of 92.1 mph) 65% of the time and his "yellow snapdragon hook" 31.8% of the time.

Those two pitches, and a little luck (.222 batting average on ball in play), have helped the 26-year old become the Rockies' best reliever.

With Brian Fuentes probably leaving at the end of the year, and Buchholz under contract until at least 2011, perhaps the fidgety Pennsylvanian will soon be jogging to the mound in the ninth inning at Coors field.

Let's hope he chooses a better method of intimidation than Fuentes' Staind song.

Contact Eric Peterson about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 112 or sports@coloradodaily.com