Francisco Liriano is baseball’s best pitching prospect. He got all the attention in spring training and was drafted in virtually every league out there. With the Twins starting rotation imploding, he is getting his chance to join the rotation and live up to my expectations, as I picked him for ROY in the AL.
Hamels wasn’t talked about all that much going into the season, on the other hand. Sure, he was a highly talented prospect with big upside but didn’t appear to be ready to contribute as Liriano did. The fact he was mostly ignored was substantiated, as reasons were abound.
First off, the guy has a laundry list of injuries in the past: broken arm in high school, strained non-pitching shoulder in 2003, missed most of 2004 after pulling a triceps muscle, broken pitching hand in bar fight in 2005 and finally a stress fracture in his back, which made Hamels miss the second half of 2005.
Hamels was the Phillies first-round pick out of high school in 2002 and only managed to throw about 175 total innings in the minors. They were impressive innings. In Triple-A this year, Hamels allowed one run in three starts and had a spectacular 36/1 K/BB ratio while allowing just 10 hits in 23 innings. His major league debut saw him strikeout seven Reds in five scoreless innings. He walked five, but the Reds are a patient bunch.
His back is admittedly worrisome, and the injury history cannot be ignored; however, the fact that none of the previous injuries involved his pitching arm is rather encouraging. So how good is this guy going to be right out of the gate? Well, only a select few are able to dominate at such a young age, as pitchers usually take awhile before developing. Mark Prior did it. King Felix did it. I say Cole Hamels will do it.
Judging by what it took to acquire Hamels in formats that use FAAB, he better be the second coming. In National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) leagues, some absolutely absurd bids were placed. Owners are allotted $1000 FAAB for the entire year, and one league saw Hamels go for $858; another league saw him go for $826, and so on and so on. Me, I got him for a measly $388. The home ballpark, injury history and age all make him quite the risk. It’s one worth taking.
Not only does Hamels possess the ability to be one of the best pitchers in the NL from here on out, but it’s also nice spending so many FAAB dollars on someone in mid-May, as opposed to waiting until later in the season, when most of the callups typically occur. Hamels flashes a low-90s fastball, a changeup that is already one of the very best in all of baseball and a decent curve, giving him ace ability. Believe the hype, it’s Hamels time.
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