Don't get angry with me for jinxing him, but one and a half starts into the season, Kyle Davies is the clear front runner. We're not talking about smoke and mirrors - he's been striking out hitters and displaying solid command.
I have no idea if Davies will keep it up, but take a look at his 2004 numbers as a 20-year old Braves' farmhand:
(Actually, paused before looking up his exact stats to pick him up in the Yahoo Friends and Family League, but Pianowski had beaten me to it) .
| Year | Age | Lg | Tm | G | GS | SH | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | K | W | L | S | ERA | WHIP |
| 2004 | 20 | A | Myr | 14 | 14 | 0 | 75.3 | 55 | 22 | 3 | 32 | 95 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.63 | 1.155 |
| 2004 | 20 | AA | GRE | 11 | 10 | 0 | 62.0 | 40 | 16 | 9 | 22 | 73 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.32 | 1.000 |
Pitchers don't develop linearly, i.e., they don't simply get a little better every year as they mature. They move in fits and starts, and sometimes the light bulb goes on quite suddenly. That's why it's worth targeting ones that showed they were good at one time even if there have been struggles since.
It's two starts in, so let's not get carried away, but even in a mixed league, I'd take a flyer.