Musings From the Bleachers 05:15:08: A Young Gun Analysis, Part 2

Posted by Frank Fedele on 05.15.2008

Last week we took a look at the American Leagues young guns and there are also teams in the National League that have turned to rookies at times out of desperation and at times to see what they have in the rook. We will look at both cases this week in our tour of the National League.

Young Gun Analysis

Last week we looked at the American League's young guns. Rookies, who were looked to fill vital holes in many staffs. No longer were teams buying or trading for veterans in the offseason as a stop gap. In fact young pitching has become a valued commodity and almost impossible to get from other teams in trade. Now they wanted to bring up youngsters from their farm system and grow their new corps of starters. How has this worked so far for the National League clubs? Let's find out.

National League East

Atlanta Braves
Jair Jurrjens: 4-3 3.10 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Very positive. Jurrjens was brought over to the Braves in the offseason as main piece of a deal with the Detroit Tigers for Edgar Renteria. Think the Tigers might want to rethink that deal with the state of their pitching?? Jurrjens has held his own thus far and has a good group of veterans to lean on when times get tough for ideas.



Florida Marlins
Andrew Miller: 3-2 6.52 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Neutral. Miller was one of two big pieces the Marlins received in the offseason from the Tigers in exchange for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. The Marlins have been the surprise of the East thus far, still perched in first place. Miller has been uneven thus far, but the raw talent is still very evident.



New York Mets
Mike Pelfrey: 2-3 4.86 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Good. Pelfrey has pitched decently thus far in the back end of the Mets rotation. He should improve as he gets more innings under his belt and should help the Mets as the season progresses.

Philadelphia Phillies
Kyle Kendrick: 3-2 4.87 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Decent. Kendrick has been one of the better pitchers thus far for the Phillies but needs to work getting his walks down to have more success. The Phillies team is built for offense, but the pitchers need to keep the team in the game. Thus far, Kendrick has done a decent job of that.



Washington Nationals
John Lannan: 3-4 3.74 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Lannan has been a solid pitcher thus far for the Nats, keeping them in games. The big lefty has been a positive addition to the Nats staff and should help them continue to rebuild in their new park.

National League Central

Cincinnati Reds
Johnny Cueto: 2-4 5.91 ERA
Edinson Volquez: 6-1 1.12 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Mixed. Cueto and Volquez started strong, but thus far only Volquez has been able to keep up that pace. Volquez was picked up from the Rangers for Josh Hamilton, who has been tearing the cover off the ball in Texas. Both pitchers are striking out more than a hitter per inning and the hope in Cincinnati is that Cueto can begin to pitch well again. The Reds also have Homer Bailey in triple-A, so expect to see him join these two soon.



Houston Astros
Chris Sampson: 2-3 6.27 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Except for one good start last week, Sampson has not pitched well for the Astros thus far. He is keeping his walks down and maybe can build off his last outing and start to turn it around.

The other teams in the division have no rookies on their staffs, some teams have relied on veterans like the Cubs and Cardinals and some have young pitching that is still maturing like the Pirates

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks
Edgar Gonzalez: 1-2 6.60 ERA
Max Scherzer: 0-1 3.14 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Decent. The Diamondbacks have replaced one rookie (Gonzalez) with another Scherzer with better results. Scherzer has rocketed up the minor leagues and throws extremely hard with 18 strikeouts already in 14.1 innings. He should continue to pitch well and join the other good young players on that team.



Colorado Rockies
Ubaldo Jimenez: 1-3 5.52 ERA
Franklin Morales: 1-2 6.29 ERA
Prognosis thus far: Poor. What a difference a year makes! Last year young guns Jimenez and Morales helped lead the Rockies to the World Series. This year Morales has already been sent down and Jimenez is just starting to pitch out of his funk. Jimenez is still striking people out, but needs to turn it around if the Rockies have any hope in the West.



The other teams out West have some good young pitchers like Billingsly in Los Angeles and Lincecum in San Francisco, but aren't relying on any rookies this year. At least thus far, the Padres and Giants may bring up from the minors with the Giants having a couple youngsters in Double A that may be able to help the big club.




Conclusions

Again, we see a mixed bag this week in the National League like last in the American. Some clubs have had good luck with some rookie starters like the Reds and Volquez and the Braves and Jurrjens, but some have struggles like the pair in Colorado. But young pitching is here to stay as teams look for ways to control their financial bottom line and still compete on the field. It can be hard, but teams are finding ways to make it happen. Next week we will have a brand new subject in our view from the bleachers.