Does a great minor league pitcher mean anything?

It was just a few years back, that the great phenom coming up through the majors in warp speed was a very young Cole Hamels. He made his march up through the Phillies system in four years which is not necessarily the fastest track to the bigs, but he sure was gaining momentum.

In those four years, he was nineteen when he started as a rookie, he had a record of 14-4 and struck out 276 batters in just 190+ innings. In his last 3 minor league starts he had an ERA of 0.39, striking out 36 batters in 23 innings. He was a can't miss prospect, and for the most part he has not disappointed.

This year he is just over .500 with a record of 6-5. His career #'s are 44-28, ERA of 3.64 and 614 K's in 653 IP. Hamels is now in his fourth season and many would consider Cole to be the staff ace.

The Yankees have produced some "can't miss" prospects over the last couple of years, but so far they have not worked out. Philip Hughes was one. In his four years of minor league ball he went 32-8, with a slightly better than 1 K/inning ratio. He was to be the franchise pitcher, and he still may be that, though right now he is hurling out of the bullpen.

In Hughes short career he has an unimpressive 9-9 record in 28 starts. He has been pitching well lately with 15 appearances over 22 innings and has not allowed a run. He also picked up his first career save last night.

One kid in the minors making some noise is Chris Tillman. This season with the Norfolk Tides, Tillman has a record of 8-6 an ERA under 3.00 and has better than a K/inning pitched. He is just
21 years old and is a prospect of the Orioles.

Another kid to watch is Deolis Guerra, a prospect with the Milwaukee Brewers. He is a 20 year old Venezuelan pitching in AA. This year he is 3-0 with 23 K's in 23 innings. Last night he pitched 7 innings of shutout ball and truck out 12. Will he be a big impact player, only time will tell, but he is certainly worth watching.


Could Tillman and Guerra be the next Cole Hamels or Philip Hughes only time will tell. All four are great prospects for their organizations. I guess if your a baseball GM, you had better hope your scouts are a great judge of talent.