Here's a quick rundown of the NL Pitching Staff for the 2011 All Star Game. The NL will carry 13 pitchers with 7 of them employed by either the reigning champion San Francisco Giants or the pitching happy Philadelphia Phillies. Of the 13 pitchers on the roster, 6 are all stars for the first time.
PITCHING STAFF:
Closer - Heath Bell - San Diego Padres - 3rd Selection
Trevor Hoffman left some big shoes to fill, but Heath Bell has been up to the task. In 3 years as the Padres closer, Bell has saved 115 games in 125 attempts. This year he's 26 for 27 and has been perfect in 19 straight. The 33 year old right-hander has a 2.43 ERA and has held opposing hitters to a .228 average.
Starter - Matt Cain - San Francisco Giants - 2nd Selection
The 26 year old hard throwing right hander is 7-5 with a 3.22 ERA in 18 starts this year for the Giants. He has a losing record in his career (64-67), but through no fault of his own with a lifetime ERA of 3.43. He was sensational in the playoffs last year not allowing an earned run in 3 starts spanning 21 1/3 innings.
Setup Man - Tyler Clippard - Washington Nationals - 1st Selection
The 26 year old setup man started drawing attention to himself last season when he won 11 games out of the bullpen for the Nationals. This year, he's just 1-0 but he has 22 holds and a 1.86 ERA over 39 games. In 48 1/3 innings he's allowed just 25 hits holding opposing hitters to a .155 mark.
Starter - Cole Hamels - Philadelphia Phillies - 2nd Selection
The 27 year old Hamels is 10-4 with a 2.40 ERA this year as 3 of the Phillies 'Big Four' have been terrific this season. After going 29-15 between 2007 and 2008, Hamels struggled a bit in 2009 but bounced back with a strong 2010 season with a career high 211 strike outs. Went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in the 2008 postseason.
Starter - Roy Halladay - Philadelphia Phillies - 8th Selection
The 34 year old Halladay just keeps on producing. In his second year with the Phillies, he's 11-3 with a 2.44 ERA and 131 strike outs. He's also thrown 6 complete games in 18 starts. He's in the midst of a streak where he's thrown at least 220 innings in 5 straight seasons with 200 or more strike outs in each of the last 3. For his career he has a record of 180-89.
Closer - Joel Hanrahan - Pittsburgh Pirates - 1st Selection
The 29 year old former National has really taken to the closer role in Pittsburgh this year saving 25 straight for the Pirates this year. In 39 1/3 innings this year he's allowed just 29 hits posting a 1.37 ERA with opposing hitters batting just .206 against him. His success at the back end of the bullpen is a big reason the Pirates are over .500 right now and right in the thick of things in the NL Central race.
Starter - Jair Jurrjens - Atlanta Braves - 1st Selection
Jurrjens leads the National League in wins with 12 and ERA at 1.87. Born in the Netherlands Antilles, like myself, Jurrjens was limited to just 20 starts last year, but has really come into his own this year. Jurrjens needs one more win to give him 50 for his career and it's looking like along with Tommy Hanson he's about to be a part of the next generation of Braves aces.
Starter - Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers - 1st Selection
The 23 year old lefty already in his 4th season already has 147 strike outs this year to lead the major leagues. Kershaw has been a bright spot for the Dodgers this year amidst all their issues posting a 9-4 record with a 3.03 ERA. Kershaw has allowed just 102 hits in 130 2/3 innings this year holding opposing hitters to a .215 average. He has really improved his control this year compared to when he first came up walking just 35 hitters this year compared to 91 in 171 innings over 30 starts back in 2009.
Starter - Cliff Lee - Philadelphia Phillies - 3rd Selection
Hard to believe that back in 2007 Lee pitched himself off of a Major League roster posting a 6.29 ERA with the Indians. Since then he went 22-3 in 2008, went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in the 2009 postseason for the Phillies, went 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA in the 2010 postseason for the Rangers, and now he's 9-6 with a 2.92 ERA back with Philadelphia. Lee was ridiculous in June allowing just 1 run in 42 innings of work going 5-0 with a 0.21 ERA.
Starter - Tim Lincecum - San Francisco Giants - 4th Selection
The 2008 and 2009 Cy Young Award winner is one of four Giants pitchers on the NL roster. The 27 year old is just 6-7 this year but has 126 strike outs in just 117 1/3 innings of work. He eclipsed the 1000 strike out plateau this season and has gone over 230 strike outs in each of the last 3 seasons. Lincecum won 4 playoff games for the Giants last year and is holding hitters to a .230 average this year while posting a 3.14 ERA.
Setup Man - Jonny Venters - Atlanta Braves - 1st Selection
The 26 year old lefty in his second big league season has filthy stuff. In 53 1/3 innings he's surrendered just 31 hits and struck out 57 while picking up 3 saves and 19 holds. His ERA as a rookie was 1.95 and somehow he's been able to improve upon that lowering it to 1.52 this year. His ability to hold leads late in games is a big reason his bullpen-mate Craig Kimbrel leads the majors with 27 saves.
Starter - Ryan Vogelsong - San Francisco Giants - 1st Selection
This is another feel good story as the 33 year old who came into the season with a career record of 10-22 with an ERA of 5.86 is having a career year as a member of the Giants rotation. Vogelsong is 6-1 with a 2.13 ERA . The 6 wins tie a career high set with Pittsburgh only when he did it that time it came with 13 losses. Opposing hitters are batting just .222 against Vogelsong this year.
Closer - Brian Wilson - San Francisco Giants - 3rd Selection
Brian Wilson and his beard may be crazy, but he can pitch. Wilson, in his 4th year as the Giants closer has 25 saves and a 2.81 ERA this year. During last year's playoff run Wilson did not allow an earned run in 10 appearances and struck out 16 over his 11 2/3 innings of work.
No comments:
Post a Comment