Blackburn Impressive

...there was a stretch last summer at Rochester when Blackburn pitched over 44 innings without allowing an earned run (as a starter). Those who continue to report that he doesn't have the stuff to be a starter may be underestimating how good this young man can be. He took what he learned from his September with the Twins and went on to be the top pitcher in the AFL.

I was behind home plate at yesterday's game sitting with the scouts from other teams. I peeked at their radar guns and Blackburn's fastball was touching 95 and his slider was at 91. Nathan and Crain were at 92.

Blackburn is overlooked by fans because he doesn't have a lot of strikeouts but his WHIP stats are very good. Yesterday the Reds didn't hit the ball hard at all.

If you look at his Minor League career, 2006 was the only year he didn't pitch well. All young starters are going to have to learn a few lessons in their first year in the majors but Blackburn and the rest of the young starters look very promising.

can we edit or delete our own posts? I obviously hit the wrong button....

At any rate, I don't know that Blackburn is overlooked at this point...in fact I think he may be on the way to being overrated by fans.

He might have a decent 5th starter/swing man type career; I guess it's possible that he might be even better than that, but there are reasons to be dubious.

First, he's 26. Pitchers develop less linearly than hitters, but still, he isn't young, and never has been for his levels. I don't know that there is much more than what's already there.

Second, he's never been great in the minors, at least until the run he had at Rochester last season. He has a 3.68 ERA in the minors across strong pitchers' leagues.

Third, it's tough to succeed when your strikeout rate is that low. Like a lot of Twins pitchers, he controls the walks, which is a good thing, but if you can't miss any bats...

I don't mean to kill the guy, I like him and he may have a career. But to me, the issue is whether Liriano is ready, not what Blackburn himself does, in terms of who should be on the roster. He'll have his chances, and I certainly wish him the best, but he isn't the type of guy you make room for, IMO, and I don't think we should have particularly high expectations.

Pitcher A
22 yrs old - FSL - 4.99 era, 8.32 k/9, 1.31 whip
23 yrs old - East - 2.88 era, 9.04 k/9, 1.02 whip
24 yrs old - PCL - 4.27 era, 7.77 k/9, 1.24 whip
Most Twin blogs have him as a top ten prospect in Twins sys.

Pitcher B
23 yrs old - FSL - 3.36 era, 5.28 k/9, 1.19 whip
23 yrs old - East - 1.84 era, 4.96 k/9, 0.92 whip
24 yrs old - East - 4.42 era, 5.51 k/9, 1.35 whip
25 yrs old - Int'l - 2.11 era, 4.64 k/9, 0.98
Most Twin blogs have him in the top 20's prospect in Twins sys.

BA has Pitcher B as a top 5 Twin's prospect.

Both pitcher's had a year with arm injury.

Pitcher A is Humber and Pitcher B is Blackburn.

I actually like both pitchers but most fans are too focused on k/9 stat and downgrade Blackburn (see Seth or other Twin blogs). Of course most fans haven't seen any of the prospects play in person.

It's not a issue of Blackburn vs Liriano. Whenever Lirano is ready he's in the rotation. I believe the Twins should leave him in Ft. Myers to avoid the pressure of MLB and let him get a few starts under his belt. There's no reason to rush him this year.

My recollection is that Blackburn had a bad knee a couple years ago and that it contributed to his having a poor season.

Hard to argue with 40 scoreless innings at AAA, which is what he did in July of last year. Or with being Twins #1 prospect in Baseball America.

Players grow, players develop, players change. I like guys who don't follow the conventional route to success or who bloom late.