It’s hard not to get too excited about a Verlander/Scherzer/Porcello front end of the rotation. Verlander has already shown what he can do while Scherzer has just as much potential. It’s also easy to get jack up over Porcello’s freshman campaign as a 20 year old. That’s why Jason Beck’s latest on Porcello is a solid read. I think Halladay is a good projection for Porcello if he can keep it together. He throws hard and keeps the ball down. You wonder how many strikeouts Porcello will be able to rack up once he’s taken off the strict pitch count and he’s not as worried about pitching to contact.
What’s everyone else’s thoughts? Does Porcello take a step forward, or does he get the sophomore jinx and struggle in 2010? A lot depends on that infield defense. If Sizemore struggles in the field and Inge has lost a step because of his knee surgery, he could struggle a bit more then he did in 2009.