Rick Porcello 2009

The Tigers are apparently considering moving 20 year old pitching prospect all the way from high A ball last season to the starting rotation of their major league team this year. In general, I'm all for early 'promotions' for talented minor leaguers, regardless of age or experience. But I want them to have dominated at whatever level they played at. That isn't the case here, and I think Detriot's management would be making a huge mistake by having Porcello completely skip AA and AAA in 2009. In 125 innings pitched, he only struck out 72 batters, and walked 33. Those are not impressive numbers, especially when adjusted for the low level of the competition. Rick Porcello may be a star someday, but right now he's not a major league pitcher. Unless you're in a keeper league, don't be fooled into thinking he's a potential sleeper. And if you're competing in daily contests like Draftbug or Snapdraft, then targetting Porcello's opponents is likely to be a productive strategy.