We’re working through the EFL teams, checking out their pitching staffs and making helpful recommendations for the upcoming draft season. In our last installment, we looked at Old Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Flint Hill; today the focus shifts to Peshastin, Kaline, and Haviland.
Peshastin: Any staff that starts out with Max Scherzer is blessed. Peshastin blew us all away with his award-winning “shock and awe” bidding strategy, and it certainly paid off with Scherzer in 2014. Let’s hope (or maybe not!) that he still feels that way three years hence when he finally sheds that contract.
Of course the big bargain on the Pears is Chris Sale, who almost won the AL Cy Young award. Sale is (finally) at the end of his rookie contract and next year the rest of us will get a chance at him. But this year he’ll be right up there with Scherzer leading the Pears with great pitching.
The rest of the Pear staff is not quite as certain. The rest of us can be thankful that the Pears traded away Alex Cobb and Phil Hughes to the Cheese – otherwise they’d be threatening the Alleghenys at the top of the league. Alex Wood had a great year in 2014 but can he repeat it? Bauer seems to have figured it out and might be poised for a breakout year. Gee and Odorizzi, who came over in the trade with the Cheese, are question marks. Cotts and Delgado are less-than-stellar relievers.
The Pears have lots of youngsters with potential, but they need one or two veteran starters to move up in the ranks of EFL pitching staffs this year.
Kaline: The Drive roster is short of pitching. They need more!
Always strong in the bullpen, which features MLB’s best closer in Craig Kimbrel, Kaline management seems to shifting focus more towards starters this off-season.
Last year’s big draft choice, James Paxton, did an outstanding job in August and September and looks like he may become Kaline’s top pitcher in 2015.
The rest of the staff has had its ups and downs – unfortunately, more downs than ups. Which Jason Hammel will Kaline get: the Chicago version (pretty good) or the Oakland (stinky)? Cosart was equally unreliable. McAllister has seen better days and may not even make Cleveland’s staff. Tommy Milone fell apart after being traded to Minnesota – can he recover? Will A.J. Cole ever get to the bigs?
The Drive needs to consider losing some of its less-reliable pitchers and pick up at least three better-quality starters to have any success in 2015.
Haviland: Always one of the EFL’s top teams, the Dragon pitchers were once again successful in 2014, finishing with the league’s third-best ERA. This year they have a large staff dominated by pitchers on rookie contract. The lone veteran is Carlos Carrasco, whom the Dragons stole from the Cheese in a free-agent draft by virtue of having more money. Carrasco looks great, and the Cheese remain grumpy about that incident.
So many of the young Dragons seem to be on the cusp of greatness: Carlos Martinez, Kevin Gausman, Chris Archer, even Dylan Bundy who will finally be back this year. Garrett Richards was outstanding last year, as were Kelvin Herrera and Justin Wilson in the bullpen.
Since they lack a true ace, we can’t place Haviland’s staff above Pittsburgh’s, but it looks like they’ll once again be among the EFL’s top staffs. We recommend that they just sit tight and not draft any pitchers this year. Give the rest of us a chance!
Next up: Portland, Cottage, and Canberra.