Two Major One Minor 060411

Here we are in June and the bats are heating up with the temps. This week I have three pitchers that are fighting fire with fire as they are dominating on the mound. The two Major Leaguers are Dillon Gee and Craig Kimbrel with the Minor Leaguer being Edwar Cabrera.


Gee is one of those players that I have asked myself each week whether I should add him to my team. All he does is continue to impress with one strong outing after another. He won again tonight with a shutout over the Braves to push his record to 6-0 with a 3.33 ERA. His performance has him auditioning for both Rookie of the Year and ace of the Mets staff. Last season this righty really blossomed in AAA going 13-8 with a 4.98 ERA and 165 strikeouts over 161 innings. While his 39 strikeouts over 54 innings are a bit off that pace the .207 average he has held opposing hitters to along with his 1.11 WHIP show the ability to control the game.


Kimbrel is also make a strong run at the Rookie of the Year with his great start as the closer for the Braves and has set a rookie record with 17 saves before the All-Star break with several games to play. He burst onto the scene last season getting 20.2 innings of experience while hurling 40 strikeouts as a right handed flamethrower and showcasing an impressive 0.44 ERA. This season has been a little bumpier with four blown saves and his ERA is currently 3.00 to date. One positive is his control has improved as his walks are down over more innings than he had last season. He learned under Billy Wagner last season and it appears he was a good student.


This may be a bold statement but I think that Edwar Cabrera might be the Dominican Republic's version of Tim Lincecum. He has logged more time in the minors than the Giant's great did but they both have similar body types yet generate extraordinary strikeout ability. This lefty in the Rockies system is still only 23 and should start burning his way through the minors as he dominates. So far this season he is 4-1 with a 3.30 ERA with 96 strikeouts over 71 innings while only allowing 14 walks and holding opponents to a .221average. This is a continuation of his previous years when he struck out 113 over 78.2 innings in 2008, 78 strikeouts over 52.1 innings in 2009 and 87 strikeouts over 73.1 innings in 2010. Over those same years he held opponents to .221, .183  and .251 respectfully. Before long Colorado could be blessed with another talented arm in their roster.