Cole Hamels had a deceptively good year pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006. He made 23 starts and finished with a 9-8 record. In 132 Innings he K'd 145 batters, good for a 9.86 K per inning rate. An outstanding K rate for any pitcher, especially a rookie. Very few rookies have ever done better. Hamels walked 48 batters, so his BB rate was 3.3. Not a bad BB rate, and his K to BB ratio was 3.0. Excellent for any pitcher, and again, tremendous for a rookie.
Hamels ERA in 2006 was 4.08. Another decent number for any pitcher, and when you factor in that he pitched his home games in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, which is a park that greatly favors hitters, the number is very impressive for a rookie.
None of these numbers should come as a surprise to anybody who followed Hamels career in the minors, where he was nothing short of sensational. His minor league record is: 14-4/ 1.43 ERA/ 12.4 K's/ 3.3 BB's/ 36 starts/ 201 innings. That's a fine K to BB ratio of 3.8 he had in the minors.
Given Hamels tremendous minor league record, combined with his deceptively good rookie year, one has to believe he is going to be even better in the Majors in 2007. He has all the skills necessary to win the Cy Young Award in 2007. He is a high strikeout pitcher, with an excellent K to BB ratio. There is every reason to believe he will be able to lower his ERA this year, since he pitched to such a low ERA in the minors, and even a 4.08 ERA for a rookie in a hitters park is very good.
It is impossible to say for certain that any pitcher will win the Cy Young Award in any given year. The best you can do is to identify the pitchers who will most likely be able to contend for the award. Everything in Cole Hamels record as a professional baseball player to date, points to the fact that he will be one of the prime contenders for the National League Cy Young Award in 2007.
