Fantasy managers who have been stashing Giants pitching prospect, Madison Bumgarner, have to wait no longer. The San Francisco Giants called up Bumgarner to start last Saturday on national TV against the Boston Red Sox. He ended up going 7 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk and 4 earned runs. Not bad against the #1 team vs. LHP (although they were without Pedroia). Bumgarner was once thought of as a “can’t miss” prospect, but now he looks like a #3 starter at best. What exactly has changed?
Velocity. In 2008, Bumgarner came out of high school throwing mid-90s, and generally relied solely on his fastball to dominate hitters in the Sally league. However, Bumgarner showed up to 2010 Spring Training merely throwing upper 80s. However, there is hope, as Bumgarner has been clocked at 90-93 mph during May starts at Triple-A. Bumgarner’s average fastball was 89.7 mph during his debut against the Red Sox. That is encouraging.
Pitch Arsenal. It’s no secret that Bumgarner was not allowed to throw any breaking balls in high school. That just won’t fly in the major leagues, so Bumgarner has established a slider and a curve ball as well. These pitches are surprisingly effective when you consider how long he has had to master them.
AT&T Park. The Giants home park is the 4th most pitcher friendly stadium in all of baseball when it comes to allowing runs. This will definitely help Bumgarner, as most rookies don’t have this luxury.
Fantasy Future. Bumgarner no longer projects out as an ace of the pitching staff. However, he look like he will be a great SP3 for your fantasy squad for many years. The division he plays in and park factors certainly help his case. In 2010, he is worth owning in most redraft mixed-leagues with 12+ teams and definitely worth owning in all keeper leagues. If his off-speed pitches continue to develop, then Bumgarner has SP2 potential.
Comparable Pitchers: Sean Marshall, Dontrelle Willis, Zach Duke
2010 Projection: 92 IP - 7 Wins – 3.69 ERA – 1.34 WHIP – 77 K - 33 BB
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