While looking through a list of top young major leaguers and
prospects, some names stand out. Pitchers such as Matt Moore, Jacob Turner,
Michael Pineda and Julio Teheran will soon be mentioned among the top aces in
the game of baseball and be expected to compete year-in, year-out for pitching
awards. For now, though, they have little big-league experience and will likely
experience growing pains the next few years before reaching their peak.
There is, however, a young hurler I can foresee making a big
impact in the 2012 NL Cy Young Award balloting, as long as his equally-talented
teammates don’t overshadow him. Yes, call me biased, but I am referring to big
lefty Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants.
“MadBum”, as he is affectionately called by the fans, was a
top prospect coming out of high school in North Carolina. At 20 years of age he
got a taste of the majors and succeeded, and the black and orange faithful were
looking forward to many years of strong pitching with him joining Tim Lincecum
and Matt Cain at the top of the rotation. But, unbeknownst to many, his sizzling
fastball had lost some steam.
Bumgarner started 2010 the same way and got lit up in a few
starts at AAA Fresno, but he fixed a problem in his mechanics and was an
integral part to the Giants’ run to the World Series title, including eight
shutout innings in game four against the Texas Rangers.
Things were looking up for Bumgarner at the beginning of
2011, but his first few starts foretold a possible sophomore slump. He finally
figured things out, though, and had a great season despite a few hiccups throughout
the season. While he wasn’t considered a serious contender for Cy Young, he did
earn a vote. Bumgarner had a great ERA (3.21) despite a fluke outing where he
gave up eight earned runs and got one out (and if you remove that game from his
stats, his ERA plummets to 2.86). He averaged nearly a strikeout per inning and
walked just two batters per nine innings.
The big lefty’s final 10 starts of 2011 are what have me
very excited for the upcoming season. At a time when most pitchers are
faltering because of fatigue, MadBum was at his best. He had double-digit
strikeouts three times in that stretch, including a career-high 13 in one
outing. He K’d nearly five batters for every one walk and allowed and
suppressed hits much better than his overall season, with more than a hit less
per nine innings.
Entering 2012, Bumgarner has many things going his way. Quite
honestly, I think he will continue improving and put up full-season statistics
along the lines of those final 10 starts. If he can figure out his annual
beginning-of-the-season problems, he could have an outstanding season and not
only be in the discussion but win the NL Cy Young Award.
