In the first few days of baseball season, it was hard to put your finger down on a schedule and not land on a potential All-Star starting pitcher returning from a prolonged injury absence. It was even harder, after one outing, to put your finger on which comebacking hurlers would recover their old form and which would prove to be damaged goods.
To help you get a leg (and an arm) up on the competition, Roto Files will try to separate the aces from the aches, the OK from the no-K’s.
Ben Sheets, A’s
A torn flexor tendon claimed Sheets’ 2009 season and limited him to a one-year contract with the take-a-chance A’s. He was mediocre in allowing three runs in five innings to the Mariners in the opener, but his stuff reportedly remains more or less intact — his fastball topped out at 92 mph and the break was sharp on his 12-to-6 curve. The concern is command: Sheets allowed four walks in his AL debut, though he had excellent walk rates in his best seasons with the Brewers. As long as he is healthy and working in Oakland’s pitcher-friendly McAfee Coliseum, he gets an endorsement.
Shaun Marcum, Blue Jays
In his first start since 2008, on Opening Day Marcum flirted with a no-hitter before losing the bid and a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning. The right-hander had a career-low 3.39 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in ’08 before Tommy John surgery. Early indications suggest he can match that — and strike out five or so per game — with his new elbow ligament, but wins will be hard to come by on the worst team in the brutal AL East.
Chris Young, Padres
Young was shut down last June 14 to undergo shoulder surgery, but he did the shutting down in his first start — throwing six one-hit innings and striking out five Diamondbacks. The Princeton product is in a good spot as a fly-ball pitcher at Petco Park, a defensive paradise, and in the NL West, which increasingly is known as a pitching division. Young, who averaged 25 starts over five full big league seasons, is a re-injury risk, but ride him for now.
Justin Duchscherer, A’s
Files has less confidence in the second Athletic on this list. A longtime reliever, Duchscherer had a sterling 2.54 ERA in his first season starting in 2008, but was derailed by elbow surgery and battled clinical depression during his rehab. After getting boxed around for seven hits and five runs on Wednesday, he said, “I basically feel indifferent.” Yikes.
Jake Westbrook, Indians
The fact Westbrook — who before Opening Day last pitched in the majors on May 28, 2008, because of Tommy John surgery — is slotted as the Indians’ No. 1 starter is more a commentary on the sorry state of the Tribe than Westbrook’s ace potential. He has a career losing record, 4.33 ERA and almost twice as many innings as strikeouts. A four-inning, five-run premiere confirmed him as a fantasy stay-away.