On the diamond, a new wave of hurlers

Baseball's young guns take their place in the rotation

from the June 22, 2007 edition

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Now pitching: A NEW GENERATION of star hurlers, poised to claim the mantle from aging heroes such as Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux.

As those Hall of Famers remain in the rotation of their respective teams, a slew of young guns have burst onto the scene, armed with blistering fastballs and an unmistakable air of confidence.

A look at the earned-run average (ERA) leaders provides ample evidence of the talented arms under age 30. In the American League the ERA leader is Oakland's Dan Haren. Another West Coast pitcher, Jake Peavy of San Diego, tops the National League (NL). Both pitchers are all of 26.

Experts say the heralded young pitchers are overdue. The 40-somethings decorated with a trove of Cy Youngs and hundreds of wins apiece – those of the Clemens generation – ruled the pitching rubber with nary a successor in the next generation, save Pedro Martinez. And Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, is, at 35, nearing the end of his career.

"For a seven- to 10-year period, there was a real downturn in starting pitching," says Tom Verducci, lead baseball writer at Sports Illustrated. "We were due for a 'market correction' and now we've got it."

At last, though, a new crop has emerged. There is no Maddux in the group. Finesse pitching has taken a back seat to power, an approach bolstered by those ubiquitous radar guns registering high pitch speeds.

Even as Peavy and Haren display power, though, they also demonstrate a knack for improved strategy on the mound, mixing speeds and pitches with increasing effectiveness each season.

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