AL Central stocked with pitching
Posted on March 20th, 2007 – 9:17 AMBy Joe Christensen
The Twins will be picked to finish fourth in the AL Central by some people who look at that projected starting rotation and see huge question marks behind Johan Santana. Other national writers have told me so, and I can’t blame them. For now, Matt Garza, Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker are just names to them, and quite frankly, baseball is filled with other names just like them.
Earlier this spring, the Tigers sent 6-6 LHP Andrew Miller to the minors, knowing he’d be just a phone call away. Many considered him the best talent in the 2006 draft. He was so polished coming out of North Carolina, he pitched eight games in the majors last season.
The White Sox stockpiled young pitchers when they traded Freddy Garcia and Brandon McCarthy this offseason. RHP Gavin Floyd appears set to make their opening day rotation, and now they have LHP John Danks and LHP Gio Gonzalez waiting in the wings.
Then there’s Cleveland. Cliff Lee will open the season on the DL with a strained abdominal muscle, and Fausto Carmona (a failed closer) will take his spot. But as the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports today, the Indians had another pitcher open some eyes this spring, as RHP Adam Miller posted a 0.00 ERA over 14 innings. Still, he’s probably going to open the season at Class AAA Buffalo.


