Baseball

Aces High

With another banner crop of young pitchers on the rise, SI asked those in the know to name their dream rotation

ASKED TO ASSEMBLE a dream rotation from this season's newcomers and up-and-comers, several big league executives wrestled mightily with their selections. "Can I take eight pitchers?" asked one NL Central exec, exasperated that he was limited to five. "Who wouldn't want any of these guys?"

In a survey of 11 high-ranking major league talent evaluators, SI employed the following criteria: Each pitcher had to have one year or less of major league service time entering the 2007 season; prospects with no experience in the bigs were eligible too. That eliminated such prodigies as the Giants' Matt Cain, the Tigers' Justin Verlander and the Mariners' Felix Hernandez. Using a 5-4-3-2-1 scoring system in which the top pick received five points and the fifth selection one point, the group awarded votes to 14 pitchers. Suffering little for his recent struggles, 26-year-old Red Sox rookie righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka (far right) got eight first-place votes. "He's just going through a learning curve," says an AL West executive. "He's still got eight different pitches, intelligence and moxie."

Finishing close to Matsuzaka in the overall voting (box, right) was Cole Hamels, 23, who was the only other pitcher to receive more than one first-place vote (he got two) and was the runner-up on six ballots. The Phillies' lefthander drew consistent raves from the experts, several of whom said he already has the game's best changeup. Says one NL East exec, "He's not just some soft-tossing lefty. Guys have to honor his [low-90s] fastball."

Twenty-year-old Yankees righthander Phil Hughes, who came within eight outs of a no-hitter against the Rangers last week before pulling his left hamstring, was the clear-cut third choice, followed by Indians minor league righthander Adam Miller, 22. Rounding out the rotation was the Giants' Tim Lincecum, 22, who had an 0.29 ERA at Triple A Fresno before making his big league debut on Sunday night—against Hamels no less. Lincecum's line (4 1/3 innings, five earned runs, five strikeouts) was quite similar to that of Hughes in his debut 10 days earlier against the Blue Jays (4 1/3 innings, four earned runs, five strikeouts), though the Giants rookie struggled with his command (five walks) in an 8--5 loss.

Miller, in particular, intrigued several poll participants, one of whom, an AL West executive, described him as a " Kevin Brown clone" for his heavy ball (and not his personality). Voters were similarly curious about Lincecum, who was cited for his stuff (mid-90s fastball with an even better curve) and confidence, though one voter wondered whether his "violent arm action" could eventually derail the 6-foot, 175-pound righthander.

The rotation is so tough to crack, in fact, that the Reds' exquisitely named flamethrower Homer Bailey, 21, finished eighth in the voting and Brewers righthander Yovani Gallardo, 21 (42 strikeouts in 30 innings for Triple A Nashville), was shut out. "This is a really good class," says another AL Central executive, "a lot of guys to be excited about for many years to come."

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