With the news that one of the flotsam the Mets intended to use in the competition for the 4th and 5th starters spots will be out for three months, I wanted to draw attention to the less-hyped minor league pitcher of the Mike Pelfrey/Philip Humber duo. Pelfrey garnered all the attention last season following his successful Spring Training debut versus the Puerto Rican WBC entry.
Lost was the recovery from Tommy John surgery of Phil Humber. He pitched 76.1 innings between rookie, High A and AA with 79 strikeouts, and no decrease in his k:9 rate as he moved-up. He capped off the year with two scoreless innings as a Met - along with two strikeouts!
He is a pitching sleeper in all formats.
To quote prospect guru John Sickels:
| Player | John Sickels Top 50 Pitchers | Baseball Notebook | Scouts Inc | BA's Org. Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Humber | 16 | 31* | N/R | 4 |
* Scouts Inc. grouped Humber amongst its "Honorable Mentions". He was the 6th listed player and I converted that to 31st - the 25 ranked ones plus the 6.