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ALL-TIME PADRE ROOKIE TEAM (PITCHING) By Jason Martinez sdpadrefan.com 3/20/08 This was tough. While the Padres haven't had too many rookie starters that have pitched over a full season and been successful, they have not had a shortage of impressive rookie middle relievers over the years. Here it goes ... #1 STARTER - ERIC SHOW (1982) stats: 10-6, 2.64 ERA, 150 IP, 117 H, 48 BB, 88 K, 2 CG, 2 SHUTOUTS Show only started 14 games his rookie season, although he did pitch another 23 games in relief. The 26 year-old was one of the first to arrive from the great, young pitching staff of the 1984 NL Championship team. While he was never one to rack up high strikeout totals, the fact that he allowed only 117 hits in 150 innings was pretty remarkable. Show was a very good pitcher for the Padres for many years following his breakout rookie campaign, and held many individual Padre records when he left the team after the 1990 season. #2 STARTER - ANDY BENES (1989) stats: 6-3, 3.51 ERA, 66.2 IP, 51 H, 31 BB, 66 K A first round pick by the Padres just one season earlier, Benes was only 21 years old when he was called up to the big leagues. He made just 10 starts his rookie season, winning six games and establishing himself as one of the best young power pitchers in the game. Benes pitched on winning ballclubs three out of his first four seasons, but his most impressive season might have come in 1993, when he won 15 games for a terrible Padre team that won only 61 games on the season. #3 STARTER - JOEY HAMILTON (1994) stats: 9-6, 2.98 ERA, 108.2 IP, 98 H, 29 BB, 61 K Hamilton was another highly-touted first round pick by the Padres. Making his debut during another rough year for the Padres in 1994, Hamilton provided a spark for a team that consisted of Tony Gwynn, Andy Benes, and a bunch of guys that nobody had ever heard of. While he frequently frustrated Padre fans over the years with his inconsistency, he had a devastating 90+ MPH sinker that induced groundballs at a high rate and he proved to be a very valuable pitcher during the glory years of '96 and '98, when he won 15 and 13 games, respectively. #4 STARTER - RANDY JONES (1973) stats: 7-6, 3.16 ERA, 139.2 IP, 129 H, 37 BB, 77 K, 6 CG Only two years away from probably the greatest two seaon-stretch in Padre history (42-26), Jones debuted in June 1973 as a 23 year-old. While he started only 19 games, the left-hander established himself as team's best pitcher with a 3.16 ERA and seven wins. #5 STARTER - MARK THURMOND (1983) stats: 7-3, 2.65, 115.1 IP, 104, 33 BB, 49 K Thurmond made his debut in May 1983 with a scoreless inning of relief against the LA Dodgers. However, the lefty didn't stay in the bullpen very long, making 18 starts during his rookie season and posting a sparkling 2.65 ERA. His best season as a pro came the following season when he helped the Padres to a NL Championship, winning 14 games with a 2.97 ERA. LONG RELIEVER - GREG HARRIS (1989) stats: 8-9, 2.60 ERA, 6 SV, 135 IP, 106 H, 52 BB, 106 K Harris started eight games but the majority of his work came out of the pen. The 25 year-old right-hander pitched 48 games in relief for the eventual 2nd place Padres, a team that won 89 games. Harris was a reliever the following season, pitching in 70 games before being moved to the rotation full-time in 1991. While he showed great potential, winning 9 of his 20 starts that season with a 2.23 ERA, he could not seem to stay healthy for a full season. Harris was eventually traded with Bruce Hurst to the Colorado Rockies, a pitcher's worst nightmare at the time. He lost 21 of his next 25 decisions and was out of the majors after the 1995 season. MIDDLE RELIEF - JOSE ANTONIO NUNEZ (2001) stats: 4-1, 3.31 ERA, 51.2 IP, 48 H, 20 BB, 49 K I admit it. I barely really remember this guy. And I never miss a game, whether it's on the radio or TV or in person. But in 2001, it was one of those seasons when the pitching staff was so bad that I probably changed the channel a lot when the Padres weren't batting (they did have a great offense that season). Nunez was claimed off waivers early in the season from the Dodgers and proceeded to have one of the better seasons ever by a Padre left-handed reliever, appearing in more games than any pitcher besides Trevor Hoffman. He probably didn't have the impact that Kevin Walker had in 2000 (7-1 ,4.19 ERA in 70 games) but I chose him because his ERA is almost a run lower. MIDDLE RELIEF- CLAY HENSLEY (2005) stats: 1-1, 1.70 ERA, 47.2 IP, 33 H, 17 BB, 28 K No team has been better at producing rookie middle relievers during the past few years. Clay Hensley didn't join the 2005 team until July, but ended up being a big reason the team was able to secure its first NL West title in seven years. With an incredible moving sinker, batters could not figure out Hensley during his rookie season. Three seasons later, Hensley is trying to bounce back from injury and he could find himself back in a middle relief role by May or June. MIDDLE RELIEF- LUIS DELEON (1982) stats: 9-5, 2.03 ERA, 15 SV, 102 IP, 77 H, 16 BB, 60 K With the Padres on the brink of respectability, Deleon's rookie season was spectacular. In fact, it was his best as a major leaguer. With fellow rookies Show and Dravecky spending a majority of their first season in the bullpen, the trio teamed with Gary Lucas (3.24 ERA, 16 Sv) and Floyd Chiffer (2.95 ERA) to form a very solid relief group. SETUP - CLA MEREDITH (2006) stats: 5-1, 1.07 ERA, 50.2 IP, 30 H, 6 BB, 37 K Meredith came out of nowhere to have one of the more dominating seasons from a middle reliever in baseball history. After a mid-season callup, Meredith was unhittable, inducing weak groundball after weak groundball. During one stretch, he did not allow an earned run over a span of 33.2 innings, setting a team record and a MLB record for a rookie reliever. SETUP - AKINORI OTSUKA (2004) stats: 7-2, 1.75 ERA, 77.1 IP, 56 H, 26 BB, 87 K The 32 year-old Otsuka had been pitching in Japan for years before his major league debut in 2004. 'Aki' was third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and this fan favorite made the team's inaugural season at Petco Park that much more enjoyable with his intensity and ability to get out of jams. Although he was part of the trade that might go down as one of the most lopsided trades in baseball during this decade, Otsuka had 32 saves for the Texas Rangers in 2006. CLOSER - BUTCH METZGER (1976) stats: 11-4, 2.92 ERA, 16 SV, 123.1 IP, 119 H, 52 BB, 89 K Metzger was a 24 year-old closer for a Padre team that won just 73 games and finished in fifth place. While Cy Young award winner Randy Jones stole the spotlight with his 22-win season that season, someone else had to pitch in the 15 of 40 games that Jones didn't complete. Metzger was co-Rookie of the Year, along with Reds pitcher Pat Zachry. Although his Padre career didn't last very long (traded to STL in May '77), he'll always be remembered as the only Padre pitcher to win the award. HONARABLE MENTION BOB SHIRLEY (1977): 12-18, 3.70 ERA, 214 IP, 146 K MARK LEE (1978): 5-1, 3.28 ERA, 85 IP, 74 H, 31 K STEVE MURA (1979): 4-4, 3.07 ERA, 73 IP, 57 H, 59 K GARY LUCAS (1980): 5-8, 3.24 ERA, 150 IP, 138 H, 85 K DANIEL BOONE (1981): 1-0, 3.28 ERA, 63.1 IP, 63 H, 43 K JIMMY JONES (1987): 9-7, 4.14 ERA, 145.2 IP, 154 H, 51 K RICH RODRIGUEZ (1990): 1-1, 2.83 ERA, 47.2 IP, 52 H, 22 K JOSE MELENDEZ (1991): 8-5, 3.27 ERA, 3 Sv, 93.2 IP, 77 H, 60 K FRANK SEMINARA (1992): 9-4, 3.68 ERA, 100.1 IP, 98 H, 61 K BRYCE FLORIE (1995): 2-2, 3.01 ERA, 68.2 IP, 49 H, 38 BB, 68 K MATT CLEMENT (1999): 10-12, 4.48 ERA, 180.2 IP, 190 H, 135 K ADAM EATON (2000): 7-4, 4.13 ERA, 135 IP, 134 H, 90 K KEVIN WALKER (2000): 7-1, 4.19 ERA, 66.2 IP, 49 H, 56 K |