Major League Pitchers
Cole Hamels, Starting Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies
Cole Hamels, starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, was first drafted by the team in 2002. He played in the minor leagues starting in 2003 but injuries limited his playing time in 2004 and 2005. He finished his minor league career with a 14-4 record. [read more...]
Joe Saunders, Starting Pitcher, Texas Rangers
Joe Saunders, starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers, was a top player in college, finishing his time there with a 27-7 win-loss record. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2002 and he spent that season in their minor league system. He missed the entire 2003 season due to an injury but he returned to the minors in 2004 and stayed there through part of the 2007 season. [read more...]
Nick Tepesch, Starting Pitcher, Texas Rangers
Nick Tepesch, starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers, was first drafted in 2007 by the Boston Red Sox but he opted instead for college. Three years later, he was drafted by the Rangers. He played in the Rangers' minor league system from 2011 through part of 2013, finishing with a 25-12 record, 294 strikeouts to 88 walks, and a 3.45 ERA in 67 games. [read more...]
Aaron Harang, Starting Pitcher, Atlanta Braves
Aaron Harang, starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, was first drafted in 1996 by the Boston Red Sox but he opted for college instead. Three years later, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers. He played in the Rangers' minor league system from 1999 until 2000, when he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. He then continued in the minor leagues until the Athletics called him up in 2002 for 16 games. [read more...]
Mike Leake, Starting Pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
Mike Leake, starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, started playing baseball at the age of five. By the time he was in high school, he was a star player. In his senior year, he finished with an 11-1 record and a 1.87 ERA. He was also an excellent hitter and he finished that final year with a .342 batting average and 8 home runs. During his high school years, he won his league's Cy Young award twice and he was their Pitcher of the Year twice. He then went on to be a top player at Arizona State University. [read more...]
Jeremy Guthrie, Starting Pitcher, Kansas City Royals
Jeremy Guthrie, starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, was a top player at Stanford University before being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2002. He played in the Indians' minor league system from 2003 through 2006, finishing with a 40-36 record in 101 games. From 2004 through 2006, he pitched just 37.0 innings in 16 games with the Indians. [read more...]
Anibal Sanchez, Starting Pitcher, Detroit Tigers
Anibal Sanchez, starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, was first signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2001. He played for two seasons in Venezuela and then had surgery in 2003 that caused him to miss the entire season. In 2004 and 2005, he played in Boston's minor league system. After the end of the 2005 season, the Red Sox traded him to the Miami Marlins. [read more...]
Rick Porcello, Starting Pitcher, Detroit Tigers
Rick Porcello, starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, was a top pitcher in high school. In his senior year, he finished with a 10-0 win-loss record and a 1.44 ERA. In May, 2007, he pitched a perfect game. That same year, he was drafted by the Tigers and he signed a four-year, $7.28 million contract with them. He pitched in their minor league system for a year before being called up to the majors. [read more...]
Drew Smyly, Starting Pitcher, Detroit Tigers
Drew Smyly, starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, was first drafted by the Tigers in 2010. He spent 2011 and part of the 2012 season in the Tigers' minor league system, finishing with an 11-8 record and a 2.57 ERA. [read more...]
Chris Young, Starting Pitcher, Seattle Mariners
Chris Young, starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, was a top baseball and basketball player at Princeton University. In 2000, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and after playing in their minor league system for two years, they traded him to the Montreal Expos. He lasted through just one minor league season with the Expos before they traded him to the Texas Rangers in April, 2004. He pitched in just 7 games with the Rangers in 2004, spending the rest of the season with their minor league teams. [read more...]