1/18/12

Baseball: Shelby Miller, Hiroki Kuroda , Greg Swindell, Cole Hamels


Shelby Miller, Cardinals: They say the jump to Double-A is the toughest one to make, but Miller didn't have any trouble with that leap in 2011. With the gloves off, Miller dominated in the Texas League and went to his second Futures Game. Still armed with a plus fastball, he's learned to be a more complete pitcher, improving his breaking ball, his changeup and his knowledge of how to use all of his weapons. He's also proven to be more durable and able to pitch efficiently deep into games, even while missing plenty of bats. He'll have to continue to do that as he moves up and prepares for what could be his Major League debut in 2012 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120112&content_id=26330142&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26330142
The Yankees agree to terms with Hiroki Kuroda  With a profile that includes strikeout ability, solid control, above-average groundball rates and relative durability, Kuroda has been a salt-of-the-earth commodity in the fake game in his four Major League seasons, all of which were spent with the Dodgers. You probably wouldn't have won many leagues with the Japanese right-hander as your No. 1 starter, but he's been an ideal No. 3 or 4. Now, things are about to get tougher for Kuroda. He's leaving pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium for a home ballpark in the Bronx that favors hitters. He's also staring at his age-37 season and is leaving behind the navigable NL West for baseball's toughest division. Factor in that his draft-day price -- current ADP of 170, per Mock Draft Central -- will likely be inflated in the coming weeks by his new pinstriped uniform, and we seemingly have a formula for a guy who is a good pitcher but could land on our overpriced list. http://www.rotoauthority.com/
Texas is best known for producing great beef and the best football in the world, but they have another commodity that they export with similar regularity; pitchers. Highlighted by the likes of Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux, the Longhorn State has had 431 pitchers appear in a major league game. One of the best left-handers in that group was Greg Swindell, who enjoyed a 17 year big league career and is still closely connected to his home state. Swindell followed up a stellar high school career by attending the University of Texas, for all intent and purposes replacing Roger Clemens, who left for the pro ranks after the 1983 season. The three seasons (1984-1986) that Swindell played at UT rank amongst the most dominant of all time in college baseball. He posted a sparkling 43-8 record in 77 games, with a 1.92 ERA and 501 strikeouts. He was the National Player of the Year as a sophomore in 1985, and still holds many Texas and NCAA records. http://seamheads.com/2012/01/16/greg-swindell-representing-the-best-of-texas/
The Phillies and LHP Cole Hamels avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $15 million contract. A massive (but well-deserved) payout for the arbitration-eligible left-hander. Hamels, 28, registered a 2.79 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 31 starts last season, striking out 194 batters in 216 innings for the NL East champion Phillies. He'd be the ace on most major league staffs and should remain a valuable fantasy option for many years to come. http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/347935/baseball-headlines?r=1

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