Matt Thornton
provided the model.
Gavin Floyd
reaffirmed it, reaching his potential for the White Sox after frustrating the Phillies.
Ken Williams
had those success stories, and others, in mind when he read scouting reports from one of the White Sox’s pro scouts last summer.
Philip Humber
intrigued
Bill Scherrer.
Humber got a quick look in the Royals’ bullpen after spending most of 2010 starting for Kansas City’s Pacific Coast League team.
Don Cooper,
on Williams’ alert, watched closely when Humber started against them last August, and again when he came out of the bullpen at U.S. Cellular in September. Scherrer believed the former first-round pick still had plus stuff but needed to develop more consistency with his secondary pitches, and Cooper saw a way to make that happen. As always, the White Sox’s resourceful pitching coach was eager for the challenge.
Less than a year later, Humber has pitched well enough to deserve serious consideration for the American League All-Star team with a 7-4 record and 2.89 ERA. It’s a great story that would attract a crowd of reporters at the All-Star media day, especially those covering the Mets (who selected Humber third overall in the 2004 draft) and Royals.
But unfortunately for him, Humber probably will get crowded off the All-Star roster. This is a banner season for AL starting pitchers. Only about 10 starters will be picked for the team and Humber is in a group of 23 that entered the weekend with at least eight victories or an ERA below 3.00.
It may be little consolation after teams are announced Sunday, but he’s on the Tribune’s list of baseball’s unsung All-Stars. The others:
Catcher
Matt Wieters,
Orioles: The switch hitter from Georgia Tech has been the toughest in the majors to run on and is having a solid season at the plate (.262-7-33 entering the weekend). He might be going to Phoenix for the July 12 All-Star Game if not for fans putting the Yankees’
Russell Martin
into the lead for a starting spot.
First baseman
Michael Morse,
Nationals: The converted shortstop was force-fit into first as a replacement for
Adam Dunn,
but just keeps hitting. He knocked his 15th home run Thursday, getting his OPS up to .900.
Second baseman
Neil Walker,
Pirates: His consistent run-production has been one of the major assets for one of baseball’s most surprising team. He has a shot to be an All-Star but probably would need his fellow players to vote him on ahead of
Rickie Weeks
and
Brandon Phillips.
Shortstop
Alexei Ramirez,
White Sox: His best hope is that
Derek Jeter
(who leads fan voting) isn’t recovered from his calf injury in time to play, and it looks like Jeter could be back as early as Monday. Ramirez is a two-way contributor, with good range and a quick bat.
Third baseman
Ryan Roberts,
Diamondbacks: Like Walker, he has been a big contributor on a team on the rise. He entered the weekend in double figures in homers and stolen bases.
Outfielder
Alex Gordon,
Royals: He has been a little streaky but is closing in on 50 RBIs. Manager
Ned Yost
has used him at both leadoff and in the No. 3 spot.
Outfielder
Matt Joyce,
Rays: He led the AL in hitting for a long time but had slipped to .304 entering the weekend. The Rays know how important his bat has been in the absence of
Carl Crawford
and
Carlos Pena.
He could be an All-Star reserve but it will hurt his chances if
Josh Hamilton
hangs onto a starting spot in the fan vote.
Outfielder
Chris Young,
Diamondbacks: Like Roberts, he’s a speed-power guy and still covers a lot of ground in center field. He entered the weekend ninth in runs (51) in the National League.
Reliever
Drew Storen,
Nationals: He has gone 19 of 22 in save situations, allowing only one baserunner per inning. Solid performance. But entering the weekend there were nine NL closers with 20-plus saves.
Eyes open:
Gary Hughes,
a top scout for
Jim Hendry,
told Sirius-XM Radio’s
Jim Bowden
that the Cubs could be buyers at the trade deadline, not sellers. Huh?
While that would seem to make little sense, neither did the Reds’ acquisition of
Scott Rolen
two years ago. Turns out it was one of the best trades made in the last decade.
The Reds were in fifth place in the NL Central at the deadline in 2009, 9 1/2 games out of first with a 45-56 record. Yet GM
Walt Jocketty
snapped up Rolen, knowing he would be much happier, and productive in Cincinnati than Toronto. That move proved huge in 2010 and may yet be big in ’11, as Rolen became a badly needed role model in a young clubhouse.
Hendry does not believe it’s going to be easy to retool on the free agent market next winter, as the inventory thins out rapidly behind
Albert Pujols
and
Prince Fielder.
He and his scouts are on the lookout to add a player or two in multi-year contracts who have been deemed expendable elsewhere, as Rolen had been two years ago.
Next in line:
While the Brewers still would love to re-sign Fielder they won’t have to search for a replacement if he leaves after this season.
Mat
Gamel
appears ready and willing to take that job, even knowing the right things to say about the situation.
“You can’t think about that,” he said. “You worry about what you have to do. Whatever happens, happens. Especially with Prince, it’s a guy you don’t want to see leave the organization.”
The left-handed-hitting Gamel, who was batting .321 with 18 homers for Triple-A Nashville, joined the Brewers last week to serve as a designated hitter in a stretch of games visiting the Yankees and Twins. He had been a defensively challenged third baseman until last spring, when he was shifted to first.
“I like it a lot — being involved in everything, being able to pick up teammates by digging balls out of the dirt,” Gamel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Honestly, it’s less stressful. I’m sure it’s less stressful for everybody.”
Hot fun in the summer:
PNC Park was packed last weekend with the Red Sox in town. But this wasn’t just a case of the Nation taking over a rival outpost. Pittsburgh fans are into their Pirates, who entered the weekend having won 10 of their last 16 to climb to 41-39.
Attendance is up 17 percent, but that’s not the truest reflection of the increased interest. That indication is a 34-percent improvement in television ratings.
“People are just very upbeat, very positive,” manager
Clint Hurdle
said.
The Pirates are trying to have their first winning season since 1992.
“We haven’t done anything,” said second baseman
Neil Walker,
who grew up 20 minutes north of Pittsburgh. “We haven’t proven anything to anybody, but I know a lot of people have said to a lot of us in this clubhouse, ‘Thanks for making us Pirates fans again.'”
The last word:
“Obviously people up there are probably going to say, ‘Oh, he’s no Teddy Ballgame.’ We all know that. He was tremendous. But the one thing I do have is a championship.” –
Johnny Damon,
who last week tied
Ted Williams
with his 2,654th career hit.
Twitter @ChiTribRogers
