Ranking the Best Pitchers of Seasons One Through Three

By KYLE KEOUGH
Double Day Daily



In honor of Leon Haynes do-it-all performance against the Louisville Colonels--which harkens us back to his 22-win whopper of a rookie year--we've ranked the 10 very best pitchers in Double Day's short history, including the partial efforts of season three. Keep in mind, however, that all career records are recognized only up until the end of season two.

10. Rickey Grimsley, Honolulu
The Skinny: 39-18, 2.93 ERA, 640 IP

Why Grimsley? Other potential choices have more wins or a lower ERA, but there is something to be said for a 39-win career with the Honolulu Asahis, who have not been powerhouses like the teams most of the players on our list come from. Grimsley has done it by pitching lots of innings and shutting down good lineups while relying on a sub-.500 team to support him.

9. Gabe Buehrle, Louisville

The Skinny: 91 Saves, Only 10 Blown Saves, 2.08 ERA

Ageless wonder Buehrle has been the sort of ice-cold closer-type that a World Series champion needs. And Louisville should know: he's spent his career finishing off what they started. Buehrle, one of the architects behind Louisville's two titles, has become, at 36 years of age, the consummate veteran and the embodiement of performance under pressure.

8. Junior Cerveza, Albuquerque
The Skinny: 35-20, 2.94 ERA, .223 OAV, one All-Star team
Cerveza doesn't have the wins of other players, but he also hasn't been on star-studded teams like Durham or Toledo, either. In his travels, Cerveza has managed to keep his ERA under 3 while pitching in the American League


7. Bernie Alvarez, Toledo
The Skinny: 49-26, 698.2 IP, 21 Complete Games
Double Day's most durable workhorse is none other than Alvarez, who has notched many an out with a combination of a rubber arm and steeled confidence. Alvarez does not have the unhittable stuff of other players on this list, but his ability to come close to 300 Innings' Pitched in a given season has put him close to 50 wins and has allowed him to compensate for teams with weak bullpens by being the bullpen.


6. Larry Wakefield, Durham
The Skinny: 121 Saves, only 12 Blown Saves, .217 OAV, 2.24 ERA
While he has been merely mortal in season three, Wakefield was perhaps the best pitcher in Double Day in his first two years, including a season-one Fireman of the Year campaign with a miniscule 1.05 season ERA. Only Ryan Hurst has more career saves.


5. Randy Nicholas, Wichita
The Skinny: 52-13, 3.35 ERA, three All-Star teams, one Save
The ever-underrated Nicholas might someday go down in history as a Hall of Famer, but he doesn't get the recognition that peers Mercado and Pena have. A season-two 20-game winner, Nicholas has a knack for pitching on less than five days' rest, which allows for more starts and, naturally, more wins than other starters.


4. Tom Lofton, Jackson
The Skinny: 43-15, 2.26 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, .182 OAV
Nobody shuts down opposing lineups like Lofton has; his .182 career OAV signifies that. But beyond stupifying stuff, Lofton has been the architect to a pair of great Montreal teams and now headlines a resurgent Jackson club.

3. Rafael Pena, Durham
The Skinny: 45-15, 2.17 ERA, 611 K's, three All-Star teams
Pena, the career strikeouts champion, pitches in a hitter's park in Durham yet still has a career ERA a shade over 2. The scary-good Pena plays for a perennial contender and is entrenched as a part of baseball's best rotation.

2. Rafael Mercado, Durham
The Skinny: 53-11, 2.65 ERA, three All-Star teams, one Cy Young
The other half of the brothers Mercado has been every bit as dominant over the course of his two-plus seasons on the Tobacconists. With one Cy Young to his name and another maybe on its way soon, the elder Rafael's 53 wins rank at the top of Double Day.

1. Leon Haynes, Toledo
The Skinny: 50-11, .194 OAV, 1.08 WHIP, 2.57 ERA, one Cy Young
Beyond out-hitting the Colonels, Haynes has 49 other wins beyond just Tuesday's victory. The season-one NY Cy Young winner, Haynes is perhaps the best starter at or under 27 years of age--or even of any age, period--and his contributions to the Maumees have been invaluable.