If you asked the Phillies last June about their 2012 starting rotation, they might well have said that right at the top would be Cole Hamels and Kyle Drabek, two former BlueClaws. But of course, things change. First, the team brought in Cliff Lee at the trade deadline last year, and then, Lee was shipped to Seattle to make room for Roy Halladay. To bring in Halladay, Drabek was sent to Toronto.
Now, the two will pitch today in Dunedin as part of a big league Spring Training game, as the two continue to get ready for the 2010 season.
Hamels will be #2 behind Halladay with Philadelphia, and Drabek is likely headed to Triple-A Syracuse to open his 2010 season.
Dave Murphy of the Daily News asked Tuffy Gosewisch, another former BlueClaw, to talk about Halladay and Drabek. He has caught Halladay in the bullpen this spring and caught Drabek last year at Double-A Reading.
“It’s pretty disgusting,” he said. “You’ve got Roy, who has proven what he can do, probably the best pitcher in the game right now, and you’ve got Kyle, who’s got enough talent to probably do the same thing.”
Then you have Hamels, who is working on a new cutter. So far so good. From Todd Zolecki on MLB.com.
“I’ve watched guys like Andy Pettitte, Cliff Lee, [Jon] Lester have so much success with that pitch, that I think it’s something if I’m able to add that in with the type of changeup that I have, it can only make me that much better,” Hamels said.
Getting ready for your fantasy baseball draft? Back for a second year is the Former BlueClaws Fantasy Baseball Guide, featuring several former BlueClaws that are currently either on a big league roster or in big league camp (
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Kyle Drabek is one of three (Travis d’Arnaud, Randy Ruiz) former BlueClaws in Blue Jays camp this spring, as the 2007 BlueClaw was sent to the Jays as part of the Roy Halladay trade in December. The right-hander, considered the top pitching prospect in the organization and one of the top arms in the minor leagues, found out about the trade while