While the Washington Nationals showed off their prized young pitching possession with the dominant performance of Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night, homegrown pitching talent is nothing new to fans of AL East teams.
Red Sox fans have been spoiled in recent years by young pitching. Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have ascended through the minor leagues to arguably the aces of the entire organization. Both have already thrown no-hitters, while Lester has established himself as one of the best left-handers in the game, while Buchholz is the early front-runner to start this years’ All-Star Game in Anaheim.
Of course, there are also the division-leading Rays. David Price, James Shields, Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis are all homegrown talent and are all contributing to the Tampa starting rotation this year. Price and Niemann have combined to go 14-2 to start the year, a big reason why the Rays sit atop the AL East.
Contrary to popular belief, the Yankees have also gained steam in developing homegrown pitching talent, despite making free-agent splashes year after year. Phil Hughes could be Buchholz’s main competition for the starting nod in the Midsummer Classic posting an 8-1 record with a slim 2.71 ERA in 11 starts so far this year. Despite some rough outings lately, Joba Chamberlain has showed more times than not that he can shore up the back of that Yankee bullpen to help turn the ball over to Mariano Rivera, someone who is also, technically, homegrown talent.
Now that we’ve reviewed the numbers, what do you think of Pete in Portland’s question? Who has the best homegrown pitching talent? If you think the Red Sox do, text “SOX1” to 542542. If you think the Yankees do, text “SOX2” to 542542. If you think the Rays do, text “SOX3” to 542542.
