Max Scherzer, Joba Chamberlain, Brandon Morrow have all impressed their respective teams with electric stuff, control and maturity. Chamberlain gets all of the hype, and rightly so, but there are plenty of other better or atleast as-good-as young pitchers out there.
1. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers- Hands down Kershaw is the top of the heap. His 98 mph fastball with a hammer curveball have made him so formidable that he may be ready to unseat Chad Billingsley as king of the Dodgers' pitching staff. If anyone was to hand out an A+ for pitching, Kershaw would get it.
2. Max Scherzer, D'Backs- A much less hyped young pitcher, Mad Max has stuff comparable to Kershaw, possibly with a shade less control. His numbers in 2008 were absolutely impressive with a 3.06 era, 66 k's in 56 ip and only 21 walks. The only flaw was his 0-4 record, but thats more a product of Arizona's week offense. They'll be better next year, and you'll be smart to watch out for Webb, Haren, Scherzer and maybe Parker as the best rotation in the NL.
3. Joba Chamberlain, Yankees- Joba likely has the most potential of any of these young pitchers, his only question mark is his health--which has always been a question mark for him. Posada doesn't think Chamberlain has the body to be a starter, and I agree with that statement fully. Even with the over-coddling that the Yankees insisted on left Chamberlain on the DL for all of August. If he can somehow get tougher, he could be the best pitcher in the AL, maybe the MLB. His slider is better than Liriano's and his 2 seam fastball is just a tick below Chien Ming Wang's, with more speed.
4. Brandon Morrow, Seattle Mariners- Morrow is so good the Mariners almost don't know what to do with him. His heat is comparable to Chamberlain's, his only problem being his health which is also comparable to Chamberlain's track record. Morrow is more than likely to end up in the starting rotation in 2009, but his shoulder woes probably will send him back to the 'pen at some point-especially now that the Putz is a lovable losing Met.
5. Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants- To rank a play thats never thrown a ball in the MLB on this list really says something. Bumgarner definitely has the name, bus his 96 mph fastball, great pitcher's frame and his sweeping curveball will look to make the Giants a contender in 2009.
6. David Price, Tampa Bay Rays- Price is even more overrated than Chamberlain because of his dominant showing in the ALCS and World Series. The fact of the matter is, he's a lefty with just above average stuff. True his slider is one of the best in the MLB, but his fastball hovers around the 92-94 range. His control his good, and his future looks great. But with only two pitches, only one of them an A, it would be hard to place him in the top 5 pitchers in the AL. More than likely he'll end up like Scott Kazmir.
7. Phil Hughes, New York Yankees- What we saw of Hughes in 2008, briefly, was a kid lost. His ribs and arm once again failed him sending him to the DL, luckily he was pitching so poorly that he wasn't going to last in the Yankees' rotation much longer. If he can last for the better part of a season, Hughes could be really good, a lot like a young Tim Hudson or even Mike Mussina. Although, at least in the short run, that outcome is unlikely.
8. Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox- Bulcholz is on his last legs as a prospect. His fantastic 2007 run, that included a no hitter was quickly over shadowed by an extremely poor showing in 2008. His stuff hasn't regressed, and maybe it was just a bad patch, but it doesn't seem that Bucholz will take Josh Beckett's role after all. He'll be a damn good 3rd starter behind Lester and Beckett someday.
9. Chris Volstad, Florida Marlins- Volstad is probably the least well known pitcher on this list. His stuff is impressive, but like Price, isn't anything to write home about. He's more of a groundball pitcher, using his sinker to get outs in the large Pro Player Stadium. He had a somehwat impressive debut in 2008, but you can be sure theres more to come in 2009. He seems to be closer to Brandon Webb than Chien Ming Wange, but definitely not the caliber of Webb.
10. Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics- Cahill is a strange case. His stuff isn't special, but his poise and control is. He's more mature than Price or Volstad, but his stuff doesn't compare. His fastball isn't bad, 91-93 is pretty good, and his breaking stuff looks above average, but his control is what is going to get him by in the MLB. Billy Beane hasn't grown too attached to any of his pitching prospects outside of Cahill. He has a rotation spot waiting for him in 2009.
11. Jarrod Parker, Arizona Diamondbacks- Parker is being compared to Tim Lincecum by the old D'Back's scouts. His fastball isn't 100mph, but it can get up there. His breaking stuff and control is extremely advanced for a kid his age, 20 years old, and that's what puts a guy like Parker, whose never pitched an MLB inning on this list. It's unlikely that he'll play a roll in 2009, but his ability will more than definitely give him a spot in 2010.
12. Carlos Carrasco, Philadelphia Phillies- Carrasco's numbers have been all over the board in the minors. His best numbers came in AAA-- a 1.72 ERA in 36 innings , collecting 46 strikeouts. His K rating and efficiency are both rated in the high B to low A range, and his overall mean stuff looks very good, especially in the NL. He turns 22 in March, and the Phillies need a back of the rotation starter with Moyer getting even older, and JA Happ and Kyle Drabek not looking like locks.
13. Ian Kennedy, New York Yankees- Kennedy is an absolute enigma. He came up in 2007 looking like a very good pitcher, and throwin 91 mph fastballs. His play in 2008 was absolutely awful, certainly not fit for a major league starter. His fastball sits between 86-89, and his curve ball is above average but his control of it lacks. His changeup is his best pitch, and he uses Gagne's vulcan grip to throw it. He walks way to many batters to get by in the Majors, but if he can fix that he'll be more than serviceable. Right now he looks like Kei Igawa, but if he fix's his control then he could be Noah Lowry.
14. Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays- Most scouts rates Wade Davis above Hellickson, but what they don't see is Hellickson's delivery. His low 3/4 delivery, firing a 95 mph fastball, make him the most formidable arm in Tampa. His delivery also will save his arm, as its much healthier to throw sidearm or 3/4 than it is to throw overhand--a much more unnatural motion. You've head it before, but the Rays are stacked with young pitchers...even so Hellickson will take Jackson's spot in 2009.
15. Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs- Samardzija made the dissapointing decision to pass up being the best white guy to play Wide Receiver ever. With tons of Notre Dame receiving records, he was an absolute lock to be a first round pick in the NFL. Still, he's a damn good baseball player. He's big, he throws hard, and he isn't 24 yet. He's shown some inconsistency, but the overall product has been sweet. He's built like a starter, but he has a chance to end up as reliever in 2009, especially with the Cubs' stacked rotation. With Marmol and Gregg, he may not be a Closer, but then again Gregg isn't formidable and Marmol hasn't played enough Closer to be a lock.
16. Tim Alderson, San Francisco Giants- Its hard to believe that the Giants might have a rotation consisting of Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Bumgarner and Alderson as early as 2009. Every one of these pitchers, sans Sanchez has the ability to become an ace. Sanchez does have the stuff, but simply doesn't have the control. With extras like Noah Lowry and Barry Zito, the Giants don't need to rush Alderson or Bumgarner, and they won't.
17. Brett Anderson, Oakland Athletics- Anderson's K/BB ration in singe A was more than 5 to 1. Those numbers alone will put him on this list. His fastball is deceptive, but still sits in the low 90s, sometimes hitting 92. His curveball though, looks like it comes out of Clayton Kershaw's hand, and this is hit best pitch. His control is probably the best on this list. At age 20, he tore up AA with a 2.61 ERA with 38 k's in 31 innings. His A numbers with the D'Backs in 2007 were even better. At age 19 he had an ERA of 3.07, with 85 k's in 81.1 innings.
His K/BB ratio was 8.5 to 1, a mark that no young pitcher in any league has come close to in the years since Anderson started pitching professionally.
18. Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays- Niemann is overshadowed by other Tampa Prospects like Wade Daivs, David Price and Jeremy Hellickson on most lists-not on this one. Neimann is a tick better than Wade Davis. He's 6'9" and 260 lbs, making him one of the biggest players in the majors. His numbers aren't better than Davis' by any stretch, never pitching with an era below 3 in his professional career, but his consistency and ability to eat innings make him very useful for a team of young pitchers like the Rays. He turns 26 this year, so his time is now.
19. Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays- Davis is very good and very big. He's 6'5" and 220 lbs and he won't be 24 until September 7th, 2009. His numbers in 2007 between A+ and AA were dominant, with an ERA of 2.50 over 158 innings. He took a small step back in 2008 but finished strong in AAA. No doubt, Davis is polished, but his average K/BB ratio and poor control hint that he needs more time in AAA.
20. Joey Devine, Oakland Athletics- Devine is a reliever, but the guys that good. His fireball is probably going to push Ziegler aside, and his .59 ERA is unworldly. The man only gave up 23 hits, 23! in 45 ip. He won't keep those numbers up, but the Braves made a serious mistake giving him up. He could be Jonathan Papelbon, or if he doesn't live up to his potential hell still be Jonathan Broxton.
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