BAL Jason Hammel-Following a three year hiatus in the Senior Circuit with the Colorado Rockies, the 29 year-old has returned to the American League East with a vengeance. Dan Duquette traded Jeremy Guthrie for him and reliever Matt Lindstrom, a deal that couldn't look more lopsided at this point in time. Guthrie has struggled in his new digs, while Lindstrom (2.25 ERA) and Hammel have thrived in theirs. Hammel's been the unquestioned ace of a Baltimore Orioles team that resides in second place at the moment, five games back of the Bronx Bombers. Nothing about his season leaps off the page, but all of his numbers are very good; an 8-3 record, 3.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 8.6 K/9 rate, and he's on pace to set career bests in just about every category. Nothing in his advanced stats suggest his success has been fluky or aided by luck. He's for real, but Baltimore isn't, and without him the O's would be dead last in the AL Beast.
CWS Jake Peavy-After a trio of injury plagued seasons that derailed his once promising career, Peavy has recaptured the form that helped him win the 2007 NL Cy Young, helping push the White Sox to the top of the AL Central in the process. He doesn't throw as hard as he used to, so to compensate he's become craftier than ever. Don't let the 6-5 record fool you; he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and is back in the Cy Young discussion where he belongs. He ranks among the top ten in almost every category. His four complete games (tied with Verlander) lead the major leagues. His 3.8 bWAR tie him with Verlander and Chris Sale for most in the Junior Circuit, placing him just a hair behind R.A. Dickey's major league leading 3.9. He's second only to Verlander in innings pitched, with 112 and two-third frames, and his 4.21 K/BB rate is second behind Colby Lewis. I didn't even mention his 2.96 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 101 strikeouts. What he's doing now, pitching in the tougher league with U.S. Cellular Field as his home park, is more impressive than what he did five years ago in San Diego.
KCR Jonathan Broxton-Considered one of the game's top closers along with Mariano Rivera and Jonathan Papelbon as recently as the summer of 2010, he's reinvented himself in Kansas City and has done an outstanding job filling in for the injured Joakim Soria. His 2.05 ERA sparkles, and his 20 saves rank fourth among AL firemen after Jim Johnson, Chris Perez and Fernando Rodney. But if you look at his periperhals, you'll find that he's not the dominant reliever he was in LA, and that his season hasn't been that special. His 1.34 WHIP, 6.8 K/9 rate and 1.92 K/BB ratio are all pedestrian. Closers are overrated, anyways. I'm also a firm believer that the Royals shouldn't be allowed to send multiple players to the same All-Star game, even if it is being played on their home diamond.
LAA Ernesto Frieri-Halos skipper Mike Scoscia has taken a ride on the closer carousel this season, but it looks like he's finally found some stability in Frieri. Incumbent closer and 2011 All-Star Jordan Walden scuffled out of the gate and lost the job by the end of Aprils, giving way to Scott Downs, who filled the role for a month or so before yielding to Frieri, who started the season with the Padres but was traded in early May for Donn Roach and Alexi Amarista. Since joining the Angels he's been untouchable. Opponents have yet to ding him for an earned run in 23 and a third innings, and during that timeframe he's maintained a shiny 0.90 WHIP while striking out 40 hitters, good for an eye-popping 15.4 K/9 rate. It's clear that good fortune has contributed to his success. His absurdly low 2.3 H/9 rate is unsustainable and his bloated 5.8 BB/9 ratio is cause for alarm (that's no misprint; he's permitted 15 walks against just six hits). You have to figure that batted balls are going to start falling in for hits at some point, and when they do he will struggle.
TEX Yu Darvish-The Rangers sunk more than $100 million to negotiate with and sign him, and he hasn't disappointed. He's lived up to the hype and made a smooth transition to the Show. The AL Rookie of the Year candidate has already punched out 106 batters (fourth best in the league), is on pace to eclipse 20 wins and his 10 K/9 rate is second only to Max Scherzer among AL starters, ahead of big names such as Felix Hernandez, CC Sabathia and even Justin Verlander. As with Japanese import Daisuke Matsuzaka, high pitch counts and walks have plagued him; only Ubaldo Jimenez and Rick Romero have issued more free passes. His 1.38 WHIP, fueled by a cringeworthy 4.7 BB/9 rate, is subpar for a pitcher of his caliber, and with all those baserunners he's lucky his ERA is still in the mid-threes (it stands at 3.57). He's arguably the third best starter in his own rotation after Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis, and it seems likely that the combination of an increased workload and the brutal Texas heat will wear him down as the summer progresses. The Rangers are so good this year that they can withstand an adjustment period from him.
The choice is clear. I'm voting for Jake Peavy.
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