Neyer: IPK Will Have Better ERA than Yanks #5
By Mike Silva ~ March 8th, 2010. Filed under: Mike Silva.
I always enjoy reading Rob Neyer’s Monday Mendozas but this one stood out to me:
Ian Kennedy‘s a former first-round pick who throws five pitches and has a 1.95 career ERA in the minor leagues. Here’s a prediction for you: He’ll finish 2009 with a better ERA than whoever winds up being the Yankees’ No. 5 starter.
Wow, talk about making my “Aceves to the Rotation” look pale in comparison. Tyler Kepner caught up with IPK over in Arizona and the night where his Yankees career essentially ended. It was that disastrous start against Anaheim where he made the “I made good pitches and I am not upset” quote.
Neyer brings up an interesting idea: What if Kennedy and his repertoire turns out to be a better starter than Hughes or Joba? Still too early to tell, but wouldn’t that be ironic?
If Curtis Granderson pulls a “Paul O’ Neill” and learns how to hit lefties than it might not matter, but Kennedy could become the first Yankees kid to develop as a starter – just not in pinstripes.
Will he have a better ERA than Yankees #5? I might be inclined to agree with Neyer, expect if that five starter is Alfredo Aceves.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Keep in mind its not really a fair comparison. One will be pitching in the AL East, the other in the NL West. Thats probbaly worth between 0.5 and 1.0 earned runs per 9 innings, which is somewhere between 10-25% of the ERA.