Well, I’m off of my two week suspension and back with the second installment of the monthly Young Guns series. The first week of every month I examine the top young arms in both the American and National League. My basis for these rankings? I use a mixture of fantasy baseball statistics and common sense. In other words, if I were a GM, where would I rank these young hurlers?
NO BRAINERS
1. Johan Santana – He’s now won three straight and after the All-Star break he always seems to turn it up another notch…
2. Jake Peavy – The only thing Peavy doesn’t do is complete games, but that’s only because he strikes so many batters out…
3. CC Sabathia – The first pitcher to 12 victories has gone at least 7 innings in seven of his last eight starts…
4. Roy Halladay – He’d won five straight decisions before falling to Seattle last night. He remains secure in this top five…
5. Justin Verlander – He went 4-1 with a 40:15 K:BB ratio in the month of June, oh yeah, he also tossed an impressive No-No against the Brew Crew…
American League
1. Dan Haren – He hasn’t lost a game since the first week of the season and his 1.91 ERA is downright scary…
2. Josh Beckett – As much as I hate to admit it, barring injury he might win 25 games this season…
3. Jeremy Bonderman – He’s won four out of five in June despite a skyrocket in his ERA…
4. Erik Bedard – His 129 K’s lead the AL, too bad they routinely get wasted for the Baltimore Orioles…
5. Daisuke Matsuzaka – He’s been brilliant as of late, but the walks can still be an issue…
National League
1. Chris Young – His ERA and Strikeout totals have improved in each of his seasons meaning he is on pace for a breakout year…
2. Cole Hamels – Has not looked good in his last 3 starts, but still has more upside than anyone else on this list…
3. Ben Sheets – He’s a workhorse who seems to have fully recovered from his early season struggles…
4. Brad Penny – 2.00 ERA and he’s given up only one run in each of his last five outings, but I still don’t trust him after the all-star break…
5. Roy Oswalt – He’s one more mediocre start away from dropping off this list, but things might change quickly if he gets traded elsewhere…
Drop Outs
Tim Lincecum, James Shields, John Lackey, Oliver Perez
Coming On Strong
Ian Snell, Yovani Gallardo, Jeff Francis, Carlos Zambrano
Shorty is creator and lead writer of Milk Was a Bad Choice…
Whoo! Busy day around here, and all before noon! Which is good, because I’m on vacation after the 4th!
Thanks for mentioning Cole Hamels – that guy doesn’t get his due around here.
just made my pick. ENJOY the post
http://mwcfootball.wordpress.com/2007/07/02/hazean-mock-draft-round-1-pick-3/
Lackey should still be on there…and you miss Lincecum’s last outing? 12k’s and a shutout? He’s off the list?
Hey, Larry – Shorty forgot to add a link back to volume one. All of your guys are there:
http://extrapolater.wordpress.com/2007/06/06/young-guns-vol-i/
Larry,
You’re right about Lincecum, but I actually wrote this month’s column on Sunday before his brilliant performance. Prior to that he had had a very rocky month, though. As for Lackey…he’s solid, but I’d take any of those other five before him since Dice-K has pitched much better as of late…thanx for the input…keep your opinions coming…
SHORTY