Yovani Gallardo

Yovani who? That’s what I’ve been hearing from fantasy owners on draft day and I hope it stays this way. While pitching phenoms Homer Bailey and Philip Hughes are stealing the glory and being selected in the earlier rounds of deep keeper and dynasty leagues, Gallardo seems more and more like a relative draft day unknown. Let it be known; he shouldn’t be. Gallardo dominated at two levels in 2006. After notching 6 W, 103 K, a stellar 2.09 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 77.2 IP at Brevard County (A) in 2006, Gallardo made the jump to the AA level. He did not disappoint in Huntsville. In 77.1 IP he fanned 85 batters, dropped his ERA to a ridiculous 1.63 and maintained a WHIP of 1.01.

What’s to like:
Variety of pitches (excellent curveball, fastball in the 93-96 range, above average slider, average changeup). ERA and WHIP have steadily improved at each level (’05 A/ERA: 2.74/WHIP: 1.24, ’06 A+/ERA: 2.09/WHIP: 1.00, ’06 AA/ERA: 1.63/WHIP: 1.01). Gallardo continues to hone his pitch arsenal. Held opposing batters to a .192 BAA in 2006. Exceptional athlete. Added close to 25 lbs. to his once described “lean, slender torso”. While Bailey and Hughes probably have the slightly higher ceiling, Gallardo is arguably the most polished to-date. Good Mechanics

Needs to improve: Not much to be honest. The best I can do is that he needs more experience to prepare for major league caliber hitting.

2007 Fantasy Impact: Minimal….Maybe. Gallardo will likely start the 2007 season at Triple-A Nashville although an injury in the Brewers rotation could mean that we see Yovani a lot earlier than expected. Considering Brewers ace Ben Sheets has missed considerable time the past two seasons, the latter seems to be a good bet. Brewers manager, Ned Yost, has hinted that Gallardo would be the one called if the injury bug does bite. "…. we do know that he's getting close (to joining the club), so if we run into problems again, we do include him on that list of depth." said Yost.

Long-term Impact: Yovani will almost certainly be in the Brewers rotation in 2008 barring any major setback or injury and will be a mainstay for years to come. Draft day notes from 2004 projected him as a "Future 15-20 Game ML Winner" and I think he’s well on his way to proving those scouts right.

MLB Player Comparisons: John Smoltz, Mike Mussina

Accolades:
'06 Baseball America Minor League All-Star Team
'06 Minor League Strikeout Leader (188 K in 154.3 IP)
'06 Florida State League All-Star
'06 All-Star Futures Game
'06 Brewers’ Yount Performance Award (Minor League Pitcher of the Year)

ETA: mid-late 2007

Note: Please do not hotlink the images

Next week: Jay Bruce, OF, Cincinnati Reds