Young breakout stars: AL East (Part 1)
More and more in today’s baseball society, teams are relying on young talent to help them win. That is why there were so many legitimate choices for Rookie of the Year last year. Even the big market, high-spending teams rely on young talent. The Boston Red Sox rely on Jon Lester, Daniel Bard, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Jed Lowrie. The NY Yankees relied on Melky Cabrera, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, Dave Robertson, and Alfredo Aceves to win the 2009 World Series. In 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays relied on an entire roster of young talent (with ROY Evan Longoria leading the way) to surprise all of baseball and make it to the World Series. So what young players are looking for a breakout year in 2010? What young players need breakout seasons for their team to contend for a playoff spot? In the next few days, I will look at each division and each team to discuss what players to keep an eye on in 2010.
The American League East is always being talked about as the best division in baseball because of the Red Sox and Yankees. Now people include the Rays. The Baltimore Orioles made improvements to their young roster and the Toronto Blue Jays are considering 28 year old Aaron Hill to be a veteran. Let’s take a look at the young players who need to have a breakout season or will have a breakout year in 2010:
Brett Gardner, NYY (OF): Gardner was given the starting centerfielder’s job on Opening Day in 2009. However Gardner struggled offensively early on (.214) and an injury (fractured thumb) led to a DL stint with Melky Cabrera taking over for good. He did hit .270 with 26 stolen bases in 2009. The Yankees traded for All-Star centerfielder Curtis Granderson (who may move to left field) but then traded away Cabrera. The starting outfield looks to be Gardner, Granderson, and Nick Swisher in right field. The Yankees did sign veterans Randy Winn and Marcus Thames which will push Gardner in spring training and will be looking to pounce if Gardner struggles. Manager Joe Girardi loves Gardner’s style of play as he is always hustling and rarely has a clean uniform. During his workouts this winter, the speedy outfielder worked on bunting and has taken fly balls in right field. “…I’ve been bunting a lot, working on that more and trying to bring that back into my game,” Gardner said. “I’ll just go into Spring Training, stay healthy and do the best I can…” Could Gardner be the next Nyjer Morgan? Gardner has more defensive upside, walks more, and makes better contact. Speed is the name of his game and Gardner could wreak havoc for Yankee opponents.
Clay Buchholz, Red Sox (RHP): Buchholz has been an enigma since splashing onto the scene in 2007 with his no-hitter. 2008 was a disaster as he was sent back to the minors (I saw him in Double-A where he pitched great in the playoffs) to try and figure things out. After starting the 2009 season in Triple-A Pawtucket, Buchholz returned to Boston when Tim Wakefield’s back troubles flared up again after the All-Star break. Buchholz went 7-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 16 starts. Down the stretch for the Red Sox, Buchholz pitched the way many expected he would. In September and October, he went 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 6 starts while striking out 26 and walking just 9. He made on start against the LA Angels in the divisional series and gave up just two runs in five innings. Buchholz is expected to be one of the five starters to head up north for Opening Day. With the defense around him more improved, Buchholz’ ground ball rate may be higher. However if he struggles, the Red Sox can always just bring up another young arm (like Michael Bowden or Junichi Tazawa) or trade for someone in July. Buchholz’ star is shining brightly again. It will be up to him to keep it lit.
Daniel Bard, Red Sox (RP): Bard received a significant amount of playing time in 2009 and early on manager Terry Francona limited the amount of tight pitching situations he was in. However by the end of the season, he was still lighting up the radar guns, but this time was doing it with the game on the line in the seventh or eighth innings. Bard became the reliable option to set up closer Jonathon Papelbon with speculation that he would at some point take over as closer (a job that he would love to have). Overall Bard had a 3.65 ERA in 49.1 innings with 63 strikeouts. Coming into the 2010 season, Bard is more comfortable with his team and the situations he will pitch in. “I think you learn about getting thrown into some high-pressure situations and see how you react to them. And you say, “OK, I can do this.” It just gives you that confidence. If you fail, you say, “OK, I’ve done this before. You know what to do the next time this happens,” Bard wrote in a diary entry for ESPNBoston.com. Having confidence and being able to brush off poor performances is a trait that is hard to teach and one that will help him grow as a pitcher. He wrote that the biggest thing he learned in his rookie year was to not pitch up in the zone (especially to the Yankees). This spring training he feels more relaxed and is confident in getting the ball to Papelbon with a lead in 2010.














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