Probable MLB ALL Stars: Pitchers
Pitchers:
American League: Right now the surprise of the league is Tempa Bay Devils Ray pitcher Scott Kazmir. Kazmir has been brilliant so far this year as he has 7 wins which ties the league lead in wins. His ERA is one of the lowest in the league and is under 3. He is also among the league leaders right now in strikeouts. The New York Mets who drafted Kamir and traded him for Victor Zambrano who is out with an arm injury for the year must be pissed for giving up such a talented player.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Shilling is also having a great first half with 7 wins and a low ERA to go with a a high number of strikeouts. New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, not Randy Johnson has been pitching like the ace of the staff as Mussina has 6 wins with a low ERA and Mussina is really carrying that Yankees pitching staff.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia is quitely having a good season with 7 wins and a low ERA despite striking out relatively few batters. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay who has won the Cy Young Award has 5 wins with around 50 strikeouts and a low ERA. Halladay has to face some of the toughest lineups in the American East division with the tough Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles lineups which are deep and have some of the best hitters in baseball. The Detroit Tigers also have several pitchers with high win totals and low ERAs such as John Verlander and Kenny Rogers who has 6 wins already.
As for relief pitchers: Blue Jays pitcher B.J. Ryan has an ERA lower than 1 and has more than 1 strikeout per inning. He already has more than 10 saves. Another pleasant surprise for the Red Sox has been their rookie closer Pappelbon who leads baseball in saves and has one of the lowest ERA's in the leauge.
The pitchers in the National League have no clear CY Young winner. Florida Marlins' pitcher Dontrelle Willis has been awful as he has a record of 1-6 and an ERA of more than 5. He will proabably be traded before the trade deadline. Brewers Pitcher Chris Capuano who has 5 wins and a low ERA. Their are two pitchers on the NY Mets who have been pitching brilliantly. Tom Glavine who has won a CY young and Pedro Martinez who has also won a CY Young are both pitching excellent. Pedro didn't loose his first game until he faced the Florida Marlins and in the start he only gave up 2 runs. Pedro has around 70 strikeouts to go with 6 wins with a low ERA. Glavine has been the real surprise as he seems rejuvinated. Glavine has 8 wins already with an ERA lower than 3 on his quest to reach 300 wins.
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz has pitched well. Arizona pitcher Brandon Webb has pitched brilliantly as well with his 8 wins and high strikeout total. Webb has cemented himself as one of the best pitchers in the league. Bradd Penny of the L.A. Dodgers has also pitched well. St. Louis pitcher and Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter has also been pitching well as has Jake Peavy of the Padres and he has 70 strikeouts and 5 wins on the season.
In terms of closers Mets closer Wagner and Brwers closer Turnblow have pitched well. However the best National League closer has been Tom Gordon of the Phillies who signed as their closer from the Yankees in the oftseason. Gordon's ERA is lower than 2 and he already has 14 saves and counting with 30 strikeouts.
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4 Comments
Post a CommentMost definitely you have overlooked Webb and Arroyo. They are tops when considering BOTH leagues....are ya really watchin any NL ??!!!
I agree about Webb and Arroyo. Marquis has 8 wins but an ERA of 5.
You mentioned him, but it's still really understated that Brandon Webb's play has been superb. The starter for the NL right now should the team be named today. The most surprising team in the NL's ace, he's still undefeated as of today and leads all starters in baseball in ERA. Also has 2 complete game SO's. Bronson Arroyo has ooled a bit but is still 7-2 with a low ERA and WHIP. Jason Schmidt is 5-2 and has come on of late, and his status as a bonafide number one may be reinstated if he continues his torrid pitching in May through June. You mentioned Carpenter, but I think that Jason Marquis deserves more consideration. Remember, the all-star team is more of a first half award, not a full-season or reputation award. You left out Jason Isringhausen, who's leading the NL in saves and doing it for one of the best teams in the NL. I'd argue that Brad Lidge, who's got more saves with less blown saves, should be considered before Wagner.
Good article. I feel as though Javier Vasquez is a better pitcher than Garcia. Lower ERA and and a lower WHIP (Walks/hits per inning pitched) and foesn't get as much run. Mark Buehrle also into the equation, and you may have an all-star rotation on one team. You also didn't mention Josh Beckett, who's entry into the Boston rotation was probably more important, his status as the big name acquisition for the Sox. Halladay for sure, but he's got a teammate, Gustavo Chacin, who's 6-1 and holding opposing batters to a .239 average. C.C. Sabathhia and Barry Zito are also coming back to form, Sabathia's ERA is actually sub 2. Francisco Liriano could get a look, but it might be contingent on his age and his status out of the bullpen and just now recently starting. Todd Jones in Detroit and Bobby Jenks in Chicago are also in the running with Papelbon.