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- #21
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And most of those pitchers didnt not start 28 games their rookie year (only a year and 1/2 after being drafted/signed) they spent a couple years in the minors then were sept call ups and pitched in very few games and just a few more the following year (if they werent sent back down to the minors)...
Simply not true. Just from the guys Austin listed:
Scheib threw 116 innings at age 20 and 199 at age 21
Feller threw 62 at age 17, 149 at age 18, 277 at age 19, and 296 at age 20
Mathewson threw 336 at age 20
Walter Johnson threw 110 at age 19 and 256 at age 20
Ryan threw 134 at age 21
Gooden thre 218 at age 19 and 276 at age 20
Maddux threw 156 at age 21
Carlton threw 25 at age 20 and 52 at age 21
Saberhagen threw 158 at age 20 and 235 at age 21
Compared to the 172 innings that Fernandez threw in his age 20 season, everyone on that list except Carlton had at least a comparable work load. And there are dozens and dozens of other examples throughout history.
When guys are as good as Fernandez - and he has arguably been the best pitcher in the game the last year plus - teams plug them in at a very young age. And well they should. In order to maximize their investment, they need to get these guys at the big league level as quickly as possible. That is not to say you don't be smart about it but if you can have a guy like Fernandez for 150 dominating innings at the major league level or 150 innings in AA, the choice is pretty clear. Even with the service time concerns, you just don't know how much time you have before a guy gets hurt.
Young promotions are nothing new and therefore it is highly unlikely they have anything to do with the rash of torn elbow ligaments. The two obvious things that have changed the past 20 years or so is more guys are throwing in the mid-90's than ever before and kids are playing extenseive year round travel ball. There is still no way to prove those are the explanations either but we need to look at what is different to ever have a chance. Or it could just be there is nothing to do to prevent injuries beyond not pitching.
@JoshHamilton has been quiet since this news broke. I sure hope he's still with us.