Crack of the Bat
by Patrick Ebert

Young Guns

Living in Milwaukee and following the Milwaukee Brewers I have had the pleasure to see some very talented young pitchers the past couple of weeks.

Two weeks ago the Crew was no-hit by talented young righty Justin Verlander, who was last year’s American League Rookie of the Year and a big part of the Detroit Tigers success.  Verlander has always had the stuff, and from the first inning you could tell he had everything working for him.  By the ninth inning he was recording triple-digit radar readings with his fastball, no one could touch his curveball, and many of the Brewers players commented after the historical game that his changeup was his best pitch on the day.

Last Monday I was able to witness the Major League debut of Yovani Gallardo, who is no stranger to the Perfect Game circuit.  Gallardo has surged up the minor leagues, carving up batters for the past three years and showing his savvy on the mound as well as solid big-league stuff.

Gallardo was tested early in this game, as Barry Bonds was the fourth big-league batter he faced.  Gallardo’s approach pitching to Bonds was impressive, as he didn’t look one bit intimidated, throwing both his fastball (which sat in the low-90s) and sharp curveball for strikes, before over-throwing a fastball on a 3-2 count to walk Bonds.  He ended up walking Bonds once again, and also gave up a double to the Giants left fielder, but overall pitched well, giving up three runs in over six innings of work.

In addition to his pitching prowess, Gallardo, a talented hitter as well, showed off his bat by smoking a RBI double down the left field line in the second inning.

His second outing came on Sunday, in which he allowed only one run during seven innings against the Kansas City Royals, striking out the last two batters he faced.

The day after Gallardo’s debut the Brewers faced Tim Lincecum of the Giants, who soared through the minor leagues about as fast as one can, with just over 30 innings under his belt down on the farm.

No one doubts Lincecum’s stuff, but the Brewers hitters were wise to take a lot of pitches from the beginning of the game knowing than Lincecum walks a lot of batters while trying to find the strike zone, forcing him to throw more fastballs down the pipe.  They touched him early for five earned runs in the first two frames of this ballgame.

That isn’t anything new for a young pitcher, as Lincecum is only 23 years old with plenty of time for him to make the proper adjustments to be incredibly successful at the Major League level.

Two weeks ago I brought up Homer Bailey’s big-league debut, who now has three starts under his belt, and is another extremely talented young pitcher.  Phillip Hughes is another player that has made his big-league debut this year for the Yankees, although he is now on the disabled list due to a hamstring injury.  Hughes is 20 years old, while Bailey and Gallardo are 21, and the three represent the three youngest players in all of Major League Baseball.  The trio along with pitchers like Lincecum and even Verlander are ushering in a new generation of young pitching talent that may be poised to pick up where older pitchers such as Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Jon Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling eventually leave off.

In the middle of what I believe is a golden age for baseball, it’s not just young pitchers that are making an early impression, but as we witnessed a year ago there are also quite a few young hitters making their mark at the highest of levels.  With more talented young sluggers such as Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Ryan Braun, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Hunter Pence and Brandon Wood making their big-league debuts this year, baseball fans are starting to get familiar with the players that are likely to be the perennial stars of the game for years to come.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA .  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.