Quest for the Start

At this point, it’s not too early to start thinking about pitching rotation for the Padres. I think pitching is like an egg for making an omlet. In this case, having great pitchers will make the team environment much brighter and better. Without solid pitchers, any team is going to lose ton of games, especially if the offense can’t step up. Also, pitchers are the ones who can prevent the opponent team’s offense from scoring runs. So therefore, pitching always comes first in my book. I see a lot of promise from the young pitchers and mentorship towards those young pitchers from the more experienced players. I have been doing some thinking about the pitchers we have and came across with top five pitchers who are going to be a great impact for this team. They are: Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, Chris Young, Mat Latos and Clayton Richard. 

Jon Garland:

Acquiring Jon Garland was a smart move made by the Padres. The 30-year-old is obviously well-experienced on the mound and what he has to show looks great. His numbers are not eye-popping yet they are still decent. His ERA per season is usually around 4 but like I mentioned so many times, number does not matter the most.  

I did not hear much about him up until when I found out that he signed with the Padres. He spent majority of his career with the White Sox and had ups and downs. At the Fan Fest two weeks ago, I heard him talk about his pitching and also impressed me by saying to the fans that this team can surprise others and this is a better team than people think. That’s when I started researching about him and thought whether looks good or not. So from that day, I have been eager to see what he can offer.

Jon Garland is competing for a number one spot for the pitching rotation and he may have a chance to become the one. Padres fans and the team will have to keep an eye on him.   

Kevin Correia:

Kevin Correia struggled early last year but turned things around when four out of five starting pitchers were placed on the disabled list. He stepped up his game and became a new leader of the pitching staff. His numbers impressed me and also looked solid on the mound. So does that mean that he is going to be a number one starter? No. I can tell is that he may repeat the numbers he made from last year but he may need to step up his game even more if he wants to be number one.

When he was with the Giants for six years, he struggled and played as mostly the back of the end guy. Last year was his personal best and I am really proud of this guy for having that kind of year with us. I am looking foward to see him throughout the spring training and the new and better side of him during the regular season wheter he is going to be the number one starter or not.   

Chris Young:

Dear Chris Young, please don’t get injured again during the season again.

Overall he is a great pitcher but he needs to stop getting hurt. We already established that. He spent majority of his season on the disabled list last year and the year before that, which was not good at all. He does look healthy after his shoulder sugery he had and I am extremely glad he looks confident enough to pitch very well.

Due to the injuries he had, there is a big question mark on my book if he should be the number one starter or not. The realiability did go down a bit but he is still one of my favorite pitchers. 2007 was his best career year so far. He was even a starter for National League at the All-Star Game and his ERA was microscopic. That year, he totally blew me away with his pitching. I foucused on him so much. If injuries can stay away from him, he can bounce back healthy and can really turn things around from the meltdown from 2008 and 2009. Here’s to a much brighther season for him. 

Mat Latos:

Mat Latos caught my attention from the start because of what I heard about him when he was with the minors. Although he got a loss when he made his major league debut, he grew and grew as time progressed and I see a lot of promise from this young pitcher.

He does not look solid enough to be the number one starter but at least he can do is make it to the top five. I know he can achieve that because of what he has to show is amazing. I am starting to really like this guy and he even seems like a great person with an awesome personality.

This year will be his second year for Mat Latos and I hope to see no sophomore slump from him. He has so much talent along with potential and I hope he can prove to the fans that he has the ability to use the what he has on the mound.  

Clayton Richard:

Finally, Clayton Richard is the one who looks good enough to lock himself in the starting rotation. When Jake Peavy got traded to the White Sox, Clayton Richard was the one that I looked forward the most among the four pitchers we got from Chicago. First impression was great, which was great to see because it was a day after when Jake got traded. Like Mat Latos, Clayton Richard experienced in the majors for such a little time. He did, however, made his major league debut in 2008 with the White Sox.  

“Going into spring training not knowing exactly where everybody fits is a good problem.” said Clayton at the Fan Fest. This is a great quote from him and I agree 100%. Clayton can be one of the starters or not. We will have to wait and see. But I doubt he is not going to be a starter. Second half of the season last year was when I saw an audition full of young players including Clayton to compete for a spot. He impressed me for the remainder of the 2009 season and he deserves to be a starter. I see a lot of promise from him as well and he is continuing to grow. When the season rolls on, he should look consistent and ready to rock an roll when he starts.

Hyun Young’s rotation 

The five pitchers I mentioned are my favorite and they should be locked in for the pitching rotation for now. Yes, there are still question marks left and spring training did not even start yet. However, the top pitchers are the ones who look very strong. Even the youngsters Mat Latos and Clayton Richard.

So my rotation?

Young, Correia, Garland, Latos, Richard.

This is not the final answer and it will change sometime. For now, this is what the rotation looks like. When my boys start playing during Spring Training, my answer will be as a final. I am definitely looking forward to the five pitchers the most out of the bunch.