The Future is in
Good Hands…Or Should I Say Arms
The sports
world is never in short supply of budding superstars. Whether it’s the guys who
are much hyped and actually live up to their potential or unknown players
seizing an opportunity and running with it, there is always new blood ready to
capture the attention and love of the fans. Baseball is no different in this
regard. Whether it’s a speedy outfielder, a corner infielder with power, or the
guys we will be discussing today, the young left handed pitchers, there’s
always someone emerging into the spotlight.
This season
in baseball, a record number of players (12) are on pace to strike out at least
200 times. Never in history has there been more than one player to do so in a
season. Now the odds of all 12 actually achieving this historic feat are pretty
slim but we should have a new record after the season when more than one does.
The reason for this is obviously that pitching is getting better, but what
jumps out is the number of young, quality, left handed pitchers.
Leading the
pack is perennial Cy Young favorite and young superstar ace Clayton Kershaw.
Not only is Kershaw the best left handed pitcher in baseball but many would
argue he’s the best pitcher period. At 25 years old he already has 2 All-Star
Game appearances and a Cy Young Award, but the scary part is he is only now
beginning to reach his potential. He currently leads the league in ERA and
innings pitched and is tied for 3rd in strikeouts. He is one of the
few pitchers in baseball who goes out every five days and doesn’t need much run
support to ensure a victory.
Madison
Bumgarner is another young left handed starter, and he is a guy who doesn’t get
nearly enough recognition. Bumgarner is a two time World Series Champion and is
younger than Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and Matt Harvey, all young
pitchers who get much more hype. He’s been shaky his last few outings, but
overall he is a top line starter for sure with command of all his pitches. He
has an 11:3 strikeout to walk ratio and despite two bad starts has managed to
keep his ERA at just above 3.00.
Matt Moore
of the Tampa Bay Rays burst onto the scene in 2011, making his second career
start in Game 1 of the ALDS, pitching 7 scoreless innings shutting down a potent
Texas Rangers offense. He entered last season with all the hype and promise in
the world but managed an 11-11 record with an ERA in the high 3.00’s. This year
however, it’s been a completely different story. Moore leads the league in wins
with 8 and has an ERA under 2.30. With David Price not pitching well and being
placed on the DL, Moore has stepped up and staked his claim to keep the Cy
Young Award in Tampa.
Finally,
when it comes to left handed starters, a name that cannot be left out is
Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Corbin is tied for the National
League lead in wins with 7 and has shown tremendous poise and command this
season. He is 7-0 with an ERA of 1.44. He is not a dominating strikeout pitcher
despite his performance last night where he struck out 10 Rockies but is
providing proof that the future of the DBacks pitching staff is bright with an
ace in the fold.
