Jhonny in Pennsylvania asks:
I'm in the middle of some dealings and I really value your thoughts on young guys...
I
want to trade Justin Verlander and his 1.30+ WHIP for Roy Halladay.
There are some additional picks as compensation, and this is a dynasty
league after this year’s draft.
Other
pitchers I'm keeping include Rich Harden, Cole Hamels, and possibly
Shawn Hill, Jason Schmidt, as well as Homer Bailey. So I have some
youth.
My main concern is about Verlander getting tired every year and his walk rate. What are your general thoughts on him and more specifically his ability to bring down the walks and strikeout more guys?
Thanks in advance... I'm real concerned about this decision,
Jhonny
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Jhonny,
Ready to pull the plug on Verlander already? The dude just finished his
rookie season and was as good as any rookie pitcher in recent history.
It takes years to build up the kind of arm strength to pitch 200.0+
innings annually. Doc Halladay himself didn't have a 200.0+ inning
season until he was 25...then he got hurt two years later. Give
Verlander a few years before you become concerned about him tiring.
Oh
yeah, and Halladay didn't have a WHIP below 1.30 until his third big
league season. Verlander's 1.33 as a rookie isn't bad – Roger Clemens
had a 1.31 in his first full season; Randy Johnson, 1.44; Nolan Ryan,
1.25.
It sounds like you're being a little impatient.
Verlander's strikeouts will go up and his walk rate will go down. I'd
put a lot more thought into holding onto your young future ace before
pulling the trigger on anything.
Good luck,
Adam
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