Shoot, I'd be hard-pressed to pick *any* young MLB player over Prior. That guy is gonna dominate for a loooooong time. He might be Tom Seaver, Jr. Then we'd call him Tom See Ju.
Oswalt is definitely better than Wood when he's healthy, but he usually isn't. Wood can strike people out, but he also has lousy control. His career high in Ws is 14. Why are you scared of a guy who has never won more than 14 games? Prior was possibly the best pitcher in baseball for the second part of last year. However, he has only done that for half a year. I would like to see him do that for a couple of years before I mention him as a sure-hand ace pitcher. There have been a lot of one-year wonder type of pitchers before. The most recent one was Zito a couple of years ago. Both Andy and Roger are proven. Andy is probably the most consistent pitcher in baseball for the last five years. And Roger Clemens is Roger Clemens. Our rotation is much deeper than Cubs'. We have three guys who can be quality four or five starters and only one of them may get a chance to start. The cubs have, if they don't sign Greg Maddux, Juan Cruz as their fifth starter (ouch).
If Oswalt has not had his injury history, I would say he might be on par with Prior. But all indications show that Prior is much more likely to be healthy(mechanics and history). That alone gives him a big edge over Oswalt. I also don't get this whole #2 starter/#3 starter thing. Pettite would be an "Ace" on quite a few teams. But the Astros have one of the best staffs in the league. Saying that Pettite's a #3 starter doesn't mean Pettite's bad, but rather Miller and Clemens are that good.
who is better? dontrelle? dontrelle wasnt even the best rookie pitcher last year....see brandon webb.
That was probably true at the beginning of last year, when Beckett had yet to "mature" yet, but everybody knew it was just a matter of time before Josh would "get it" and start living up to all those expectations when he was drafted. Burnett's stuff is great, but he sometimes lacks control (didn't he have like 8 walks in his no hitter game?), and his arm motion had everybody worried he'd need Tommy John surgery... and alas, he did. (back to the subject...) When both Oswalt and Prior have been healthy, their numbers are a wash. They're both LIGHTS OUT. I'm praying that Oswalt's groin got fixed, because even without Pettitte/Clemens, I believed a healthy Oswalt could get us back to the playoffs this year. Adding two HOF pitchers is just gravy.
First of all, wins is the most overrated statistic for a starting pitcher. Prior has now done it for one and a half years. And you have no idea what you are talking about with Barry Zito. In his rookie year, he went 7-4 2.72ERA and dominated at Yankee Stadium in the playoffs. In 2001, the man started 6-7 5.01ERA. He finished 17-8 with a 3.49ERA and 205Ks. Then won the Cy Young in 2002, going 23-5 2.75ERA. And last year, even though he went 14-12, he was still a very good pitcher, as evidenced by his 3.30ERA, which was #7 in the AL.
Sorry to tell you but Pettitte is far from a number 3 starter. He could be a number 1 on 95% of the teams in the league. He was the fastest pitcher to reach 100 wins, won 21 games last season and was 3-1 in the post season alone. He was the one sure thing in the Yankees rotation last season and is the best starter in the Astros rotation, even with Oswalt and Clemens. He is a steal at 10 million, and he took less money to come back home.
Beckett is a much better pitcher than Burnett. Burnett is a decent pitcher, and Beckett is going to be very, very good. Beckett's regular season last year was better than that of any of Burnett's seasons. Beckett being the WS hero and staff ace during the regular season last year is the ace of the Marlins.
He would not be the #1 on most teams. That doesn't mean he is not a good pitcher, but he is more of a solid pitcher than a stud pitcher. He was the first to reach 100 wins because he had such tremendous run support. Give that run support to a healthy Roy Oswalt, and he would obliterate that record. Saying that he is better than Oswalt is ludicrous. Oswalt has never posted an ERA above 3.01, while Pettitte has a career ERA of 3.94. He is far from a steal at 10 million, but it is the price you have to pay to get a quality lefty innings eater. He is a huge upgrade over Jeriome Robertson.
