March 23, 2006
Winning Jobs
Two young Padres beat out veterans for starting jobs this spring. Josh Barfield is going to be the new starting second baseman, and Dewon Brazelton made the rotation as the fifth starter:
"He's pounding the strike zone," Towers says of Brazelton, who has 136 strikeouts but 142 walks in his 253 major league innings. "He's not Dewon Brazelton the $4 million bonus baby anymore. He's just a half-million-dollar player."
Brazelton, 25, has a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings in camp with 14 strikeouts and four walks. That puts him in the fifth spot in the rotation at the expense of 13-year veteran Woody Williams. Lefty Shawn Estes and 6-foot-10 Chris Young, acquired from the Texas Rangers with outfielder Terrmel Sledge and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, round out the rotation.
Brazelton will be worth a lot more than that if he can maintain continue to strike batters out anywhere near that rate.
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Mr. Pinto, I am a little confused about this article. It states that because Brazelton won a spot, Woody Williams would be the odd man out. I thought Williams was a second or third pitcher for SD. My understanding of their starting rotation is this (compliments of www.talentedmrroto.com):
1. Jake Peavy
2. Chris Young
3. Woody Williams
4. Shawn Estes
5. Brazelton
Odd man out: Chan Ho Park.
Bob,
That's a good question. It's quite possible Chan-Ho won a place in the rotation with his appearance in the WBC.
I had originally thought the competition for number five was between Brazelton and Park. However, the article does state:
"And it's not much different in the pitching rotation, where only No. 1 starter Jake Peavy and Chan Ho Park return."
Park's statistics at the World Baseball Classic (http://ww2.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_pit&lid=160):
4 Games
1 Game Started
10 Innings Pitched
7 Hits
0 Runs (0.00 ERA)
0 BB's
8 K's
.70 WHIP
These are good statistics, but Woody Williams, when healthy is a very good pitcher. Where does that leave Williams in the Padres plans or in baseball, at all?