via www.fantasyballjunkie.com

It isn't new for the A's to have an abundance of young starting pitchers, however, through doing research i have found that many teams have been brining up young starters that have had success early in their careers. As evidenced by the lowest league wide ERA in over a decade, this could be the new "dead" ball era. So, i have decided to take an in-depth look at young starters throughout the league. This will be the first of a two part series that focuses on the American League. My next segment will focus on the National League. A couple factors that i have decided to use in determining who is on this list. 1) The said pitcher has to be 26 years old and younger. 2) He has had to have "some" success in the majors.

 

Phil Hughes   New York Yankees            29 Starts, 18 Wins, 4.19 ERA, 2.52 SO/BB, 1.25 WHIP, 2.7 WAR

David Price     Tampa Bay Rays               31 Starts, 19 Wins, 2.72 ERA, 2.38 SO/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 5.3 WAR

Wade Davis    Tampa Bay Rays               29 Starts, 12 Wins, 4.07 ERA, 1.82 SO/BB, 1.35 WHIP, 1.8 WAR

Clay Buchholz   Boston Red Sox              28 Starts, 17 Wins, 2.33 ERA, 1.79 SO/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 5.4 WAR

Brian Matusz     Baltimore Orioles           32 Starts, 10 Wins, 4.37 ERA, 2.27 SO/BB, 1.34 WHIP, 3.1 WAR

Ricky Romero   Toronto Blue Jays          32 Starts, 14 Wins, 3.73 ERA, 2.12 SO/BB, 1.29 WHIP, 3.4 WAR

Brett Cecil          Toronto Blue Jays          28 Starts, 15 Wins, 4.22 ERA, 2.17 SO/BB, 1.33 WHIP, 2.2 WAR

Max Scherzer     Detroit Tigers                  31 Starts, 12 Wins, 3.50 ERA, 2.63 SO/BB, 1.25 WHIP, 3.3 WAR

Tommy Hunter  Texas Rangers              22 Starts, 13 Wins, 3.73 ERA, 2.06 SO/BB, 1.24 WHIP, 2.4 WAR

Trevor Cahill      Oakland Athletics          30 Starts, 18 Wins, 2.97 ERA, 1.87 SO/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 4.1 WAR

Gio Gonzalez     Oakland Athletics          33 Starts, 15 Wins, 3.23 ERA, 1.86 SO/BB, 1.31 WHIP, 4.3 WAR

Brett Anderson  Oakland Athletics          19 Starts, 7 Wins,  2.80 ERA, 3.41 SO/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 2.3 WAR

Felix Hernandez  Seattle Mariners          34 Starts, 13 Wins, 2.27 ERA, 3.31 SO/BB, 1.06 WHIP, 6.0 WAR

 

Okay, so there you have it. If i missed anyone, please let me know, Maybe i am partial in having three A's pitchers on the list, however, i see no reason to disclude any of them. We all know what David Price, Felix Hernandez etc... have done in their careers. It's hard to imagine that Hernandez is still only 25. He has a hall of fame career ahead of him. However, what i find more interesting is the players such as Brett Anderson, Tommy Hunter, Max Scherzer and Brian Matusz, who all have the ability to break out big time in 2011. Additionally, other pitchers not on this list such as Kyle Drabek etc... could come in and dominate from day one.

What are your thoughts on the list that i have compiled? Would you change anything? Keep in mind that this list is in no certain order, except for division. I used baseball-reference.com as my guide to each players stats. I have to say that both the Toronto Blue Jays, and our own Oakland Athletics have the best future starting rotations in the American League. I was incredibly surprised to find out that Brett Anderson (despite limited time) led all of these players in SO/BB ratio. This due can become absolutely dominating if/when he can stay healthy. The stats, in their entirety, shows Felix Hernandez, David Price and Clay Buchholz as a cut above the rest, however, i can easily see both Gio Gonzalez and Brett Anderson coming near those WAR numbers in 2011. Although, Cahill may not have the best stuff among the trio, the dude knows how to pitch; so don't sleep on him