In the 2014 MLB playoffs, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner almost singlehandedly willed his team to a World Series title. In seven postseason games (six starts), he pitched 52 2/3 innings, allowed just 28 hits, six runs, four wins, one loss, a five-inning save, and a 1.03 ERA. It made it all the more clear that in order to go deep into October, you need excellent pitching.
Teams like Detroit, Baltimore, and Oakland didn’t have the pitching necessary. Detroit got disappointing starts from former Cy Young winners Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Baltimore saw it’s surprising staff wear down against on-fire Kansas City, and Oakland saw rental Jon Lester have a poor start against Kansas City in the Wild Card Game. Here are some more teams that don’t have the pitching – that doesn’t mean they don’t have a good team to have significant regular season success – just might run into some trouble later on if it’s not addressed.
30. Arizona Diamondbacks
- 1)RHP Josh Collmenter, 28 years old: 11-9, 3.46 ERA, 179.1 IP, 163 H, 69 ER, 18 HR, 39 BB, 115 K, 1.13 WHIP, 5.77 K/9, 1.96 BB/9, 4.07 xFIP, 2.0 WAR, 0.97 GB/FB, .267BABIP
- 39.9 percent fly balls, 2,719 pitches, 1,763 strikes, 7.7 swinging strikes
- 86.0 MPH FB (70.2), 78.5 MPH CH (23.1), 72.3 MPH CRV (6.7)
- Drafted in 2007 out of Central Michigan, Collmenter made his debut in 2011, and has since gone 31-27 with a 3.42 mark. He’s become more of a ground ball pitcher over the years, which bodes well for his coming years. As a rookie, he got 47 percent fly balls, and that number sunk to 43 in 2012, and 39.9 last season. He should enter next season as the one for Arizona.
- 2)RHP Rubby De La Rosa, 25 years old: 4-8, 4.43 ERA, 101.2 IP, 116 H, 50 ER, 12 HR, 35 BB, 74 K, 1.49 WHIP, 6.55 K/9, 3.10 BB/9, 4.03 xFIP, 0.9 WAR, 1.42 GB/FB, .327BABIP
- 45.7 percent ground balls, 1,751 pitches, 1,095 strikes, 8.1 swinging strikes
- 94.0 MPH FB (59.3), 86.6 MPH CH (27.0), 83.7 MPH SL (11.1), 78.0 MPH CRV (2.6)
- De La Rosa was signed out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 2007 by the Dodgers. He made his debut in 2011, going 4-5 with a 3.71, and has spent most of the time since up and down from the minors and majors. On October 4th, 2012, he was sent from LA to Boston (along with James Loney, Ivan DeJesus Jr., Allen Webster, and Jerry Sands) in the wallet-saving move that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to the Dodgers. Last season, a season in which the Red Sox traded pitchers Jake Peavy, Jon Lester, John Lackey, and Felix Doubront, De La Rosa got an opportunity to pitch in the majors. He, as well as Webster, and Raymel Flores, were traded to Arizona for lefty Wade Miley. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares with more of an opportunity as the number two starter.
- 3)RHP Jeremy Hellickson, 27 years old: 1-5, 4.52 ERA, 63.2 IP, 71 H, 32 ER, 8 HR, 21 BB, 54 K, 1.45 WHIP, 7.63 K/9, 2.97 BB/9, 4.13 xFIP, 0.3 WAR, 0.89 GB/FB, .321BABIP
- 40.9 percent fly balls, 1,178 pitches, 754 strikes, 10.0 swinging strikes
- 90.2 MPH FB (53.1), 80.1 MPH CH (28.1), 75.8 MPH CRV (18.8)
- There was a time where Hellickson was considered one of the big pieces of a very bright Tampa rotation that also included David Price, Chris Archer, and Matt Moore. In 2011 and ’12, he went 23-21 with ERA’s of 2.95 and 3.10, respectively. In 2013, he finished 12-10 with a 5.17 mark, and last year, missed some time due to elbow surgery, eliminated the cutter from his arsenal, and struggled mightily in his 13 starts. On November 14th, he was traded to Arizona for 20-year-old shortstop Andrew Velazquez and 19-year-old outfielder Justin Williams.
- 4)RHP Allen Webster, 24 years old: 5-3, 5.03 ERA, 59 IP, 58 H, 33 ER, 3 HR, 28 BB, 36 K, 1.46 WHIP, 5.49 K/9, BB/9, 4.97 xFIP, 0.5 WAR, 1.41 GB/FB, .297BABIP
- 46.0 percent ground balls, 956 pitches, 578 strikes, 11.0 swinging strikes
- 92.0 MPH FB (60.3), 83.7 MPH CH (21.5), 84.0 MPH SL (17.1), 76.5 MPH CRV (1.2)
- Before 2014, Webster was ranked as the 46th best prospect in baseball, and went 4-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 122 innings before being called up to Boston as a reinforcement for their aforementioned fire sale. 46-33 with a 3.40 mark in seven minor league seasons, he’s expected to enter next season as Arizona’s fourth starting pitcher. Mostly a ground ball pitcher, he’s a good fit in a pitcher’s park like Chase Field.
- 5)RHP Chase Anderson, 27 years old: 9-7, 4.01 ERA, 114.1 IP, 117 H, 51 ER, 16 HR, 40 BB, 105 K, 1.37 WHIP, 8.27 K/9, 3.15 BB/9, 3.67 xFIP, 0.8 WAR, 1.12 GB/FB, .313BABIP
- 39.9 percent ground balls, 1,892 pitches, 1,218 strikes, 9.6 swinging strikes
- 91.0 MPH FB (61.2), 81.2 MPH CH (19.9), 77.1 MPH CRV (18.9)
- It should be a competition for the five-spot in Arizona, but Anderson should win it. He, sadly enough, had one of the best individual seasons of any of the Arizona pitchers in 2014, with a winning record, an ERA in the neighborhood of four, and a WAR near one.
- Other possible contributors:
- LHP Vidal Nuno, 27 years old: 2-12, 4.56 ERA, 161.2 IP
- Part of the trade that sent Brandon McCarthy from Arizona to the Yankees. 2-5 with New York, 0-7 with Arizona
- 89 MPH FB, 82 MPH SL, 77 MPH CRV, 82 MPH CH
- LHP Trevor Cahill, 26 years old: 3-12, 5.61 ERA, 110.2 IP
- From 2009-12, mostly in Oakland, went 53-47 with a 3.87 mark. Last year, disastrous. When he’s on, he’s one of the best.
- 90 MPH FB, 81 MPH CH, 78 MPH CRV, 86 MPH SL
- RHP Daniel Hudson
- In 2011, went 16-12 with a 3.49 ERA, and since, has started a total of nine games.
- 95 MPH FB, 85 MPH CH, 88 MPH SL
- LHP Vidal Nuno, 27 years old: 2-12, 4.56 ERA, 161.2 IP
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