All-Rookie Roster, Part 2

Jason Michael Barker

On Monday we looked at the top rookie hitters of 1999, so it's only fitting that today we should profile the best rookie pitchers of last season. As with the hitters, instead of choosing just a single player at each position, I've chosen an entire pitching staff of rookies, complete with five starters and a six-man bullpen.

Astute readers will probably notice that the 13 hitters plus 11 pitchers add up to 24 players -- one short of the standard 25-man roster. More on that later, but for now, let's get to the starters, shall we?

	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	W	L	SV	OBP	WHIP	ERA
Freddy Garcia	33	33	201.1	205	96	91	18	90	170	17	8	0	.345	1.47	4.07
Tim Hudson	21	21	136.1	121	56	49	8	62	132	11	2	0	.323	1.34	3.23
Kris Benson	31	31	196.2	184	105	89	16	83	139	11	14	0	.327	1.36	4.07
Matt Clement	31	31	180.2	190	106	90	18	86	135	10	12	0	.358	1.52	4.48
Joe Mays	49	20	171.0	179	92	83	24	67	115	6	11	0	.336	1.44	4.37

1999 was a particularly good year for rookie starting pitchers, particularly in the American League. First up is Seattle's Freddy Garcia, who had a great year despite: pitching much of the season in the Kingdome, having to deal with Lou Piniella and Stan Williams, being faced with the pressure of replacing Randy Johnson, and essentially skipping AAA. Garcia pitched 200 innings, won 17 games, and posted a 4.07 ERA, which of course is stellar for the 1999 American League. Assuming he wasn't overused last season, which is questionable, he's going to be a tremendous pitcher.

One huge reason for Oakland's strong showing this season was the emergence of Tim Hudson. In addition to a gaudy 11-2 won-loss record and 3.23 ERA, he allowed opposing hitters just a .323 on-base percentage, and perhaps most impressive of all, surrendered just eight homers in 136.1 innings. Hudson already throws four quality pitches, led by his fastball and splitter, and should anchor the A's rotation for years to come.

Before this season, former #1 pick Kris Benson was considered something of a disappointment, having never dominated the minors like the Pirates thought he could. Perhaps he was just saving his dominance for the majors? OK, so "dominance" is a bit too strong a word, but Benson's rookie year wasn't too shabby. He stayed healthy all year (that's two years in a row, and injuries had been a problem), put up a 1.36 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched), and pitched close to 200 innings at below average ERA. He was particularly good after the All-Star break, with a 3.26 ERA in 96.2 innings.

San Diego's Matt Clement was once considered a top pitching prospect, but for whatever reason (perhaps it was pitching in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League) fell of most radar screens last season. He had a solid rookie season in 1999, but was of course overshadowed by the likes of Garcia, Hudson and Benson. Clement had two basic problems this season: left-handed bats, and inconsistency. He held righties to a .335/.328 OBP/SLG, but lefties pounded him to the tune of .386/.500. As for inconsistency, Clement alternated good and bad months. Starting in April, his ERAs by month: 6.89, 3.09, 5.65, 4.64, 5.75, 2.23. Many young right-handers pitchers have problems with lefties early in their careers, and the inconsistency should work itself out with time. If the Padres trade Andy Ashby, Clement will be San Diego's top starter in 2000.

Why list Joe Mays with the starters, when there appear to be better candidates in the bullpen (see below)? Because he was horrible in the bullpen, but excelled once Tom Kelly moved him into the starting rotation. To wit -- in 52.1 bullpen innings in 29 games, Mays posted a 5.85 ERA with a 1.77 WHIP and 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings. In the rotation, he put up a 3.72 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 6.2 Ks/9IP in 118.2 innings. He was a relative unknown heading into this season, and should remain that way as long as he's in Minnesota, but he looks like he should have some pretty years based on his 1999 and his minor league numbers.

	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	W	L	SV	OBP	WHIP	ERA
John Halama	38	24	179.0	193	88	84	20	56	105	11	10	0	.338	1.39	4.22
Roy Halladay	36	18	149.1	156	76	65	19	79	82	8	7	1	.359	1.57	3.92
Kevin McGlinchy	64	0	70.1	66	25	22	6	30	67	7	3	0	.330	1.36	2.82
Jeff Zimmerman	65	0	87.2	50	24	23	9	23	67	9	3	3	.225	.833	2.36
Scott Williamson	62	0	93.1	54	29	25	8	43	107	12	7	19	.271	1.04	2.41
Billy Koch	56	0	63.2	55	26	24	5	30	57	0	5	31	.328	1.34	3.39

I've listed John Halama in the bullpen for the reason listed above, but he did most of his work in the starting rotation after it became obvious he was the best the Mariners had to offer after Garcia and Jamie Moyer. Halama has the "lefty soft-tosser" label, which is part of the reason he spent so much time in the minors, and didn't get a real shot until age 26. The great thing about him, though, is that unlike many young pitchers, Halama doesn't beat himself with walks -- he walked only 56 batters in 179 innings last season. Having Moyer, a pitcher in the same mold, as a teammate can't hurt, either.

Much like Halama, Roy Halladay split time between the bullpen and the rotation in 1999, with about the same results in each role. Personally, I find Halladay's stat line a bit misleading -- the 3.92 ERA is very nice, but he allowed more than a hit an inning, and walked a ton of batters to boot. His horrible K:BB ratio doesn't exactly inspire confidence for the future, either. Despite great "stuff," he never struck out that many hitters in the minors either, so perhaps this is just the way he works.

Perhaps best known for giving up the winning runs to the Mets in Game Five of the NLCS, Kevin McGlinchy actually had a very good year in the Braves bullpen after essentially skipping both AA and AAA. A starter throughout his minor league career, the Braves moved McGlinchy to the pen because, well, have you looked at their rotation lately? Throw in youngsters Bruce Chen and Odalis Perez, and Atlanta has no shortage of starters. It remains to be seen if McGlinchy will stay in the bullpen, or if he might get a shot elsewhere (he'd make good tradebait for, say, Ken Griffey, Jr.?).

By now everyone knows the story of Jeff Zimmerman, so I won't bore you by telling it once again. Most people also know that he faltered late in the season, particularly during a horrible September (7.84 ERA, 15 hits and 5 homers allowed in 10.1 innings). His full-season numbers are nothing short of outstanding, however. I'm especially impressed with just 50 hits allowed in 87.2 innings. If he late-season collapse was due to fatigue and not the league "figuring him out," and I expect it's the former, he should be back to his early form next season. Great insurance if Wetteland ever suffers a major injury.

Scott Williamson had nearly as good a year as Zimmerman, but the great part about Williamson is that he's just 23 (OK, so he'll be 24 in February). He struck out better than a batter an inning, allowed just 54 hits in nearly 100 innings, and had better than a 2:1 K:BB ratio. He also showed that he was good for more than just one inning at a time, and Jack McKeon often used him for two or three innings if that's what the situation called for. He too struggled in September and October, and also missed some time with an injury. If he can stay healthy, he'll be one of the best closers in baseball next season.

The only "true closer" on the list, Toronto's Billy Koch saved 31 of 35 this season after spending his minor league career as a starter. Injury concerns moved him to the bullpen, and it looks like he's adjusted his fine, thank you. He allowed a few more base runners than you'd like to see, but his walk rate wasn't unreasonably high, and it's hard to complain about a rookie closer who saved 31 games. Koch was particularly stingy with extra-base hits, having allowed only 17 (5 HR, 12 2B) in 63.2 innings. Given his performance and a glut of young starters, look for the Blue Jays to leave Koch in the bullpen for the time being.

In case you were wondering, this pitching staff had a cumulative 3.85 ERA last season, which would have been good for fourth-best in the majors (and better than every single American League team).

As I said earlier, the All-Rookie Roster featured only 24 players, meaning we need one more youngster to round out the club. Here's a chance for you, the reader, to get involved in the content of Strikethree.com --simply email me your nomination for the 25th man, along with an argument (statistical or otherwise) for why he should make the team. Both hitters and pitchers will be considered, but just make sure the player you nominate was a rookie in 1999. Later this month I'll examine the nominations in an article, then choose the All-Rookie 25th man.

about the author

If you think Jason Michael Barker is ready to pencil in anyone's name but his own for that 25th spot, you've got another think coming. Nevertheless, why not waste your time anyway and nominate your favorite rookie by emailing him at jmb@strikethree.com.