Dazzling Phenom Porcello Has Arrived

Jim Leyland was a major league manager before Rick Porcello was even born.

In the 23 years since Leyland got his first managerial job, he's learned a lot. Not the least of which is that there are some things you just can't know.

Like whether a 20-year-old kid is really ready to pitch in the majors.

"I can't say I knew [Porcello] was ready, to be honest with you," the Tigers manager said. "I'd be lying if I said I knew he was ready, but I'd be telling you the truth if I said he was one of the best five we had.

"I still don't know if he's ready, but he's one of the best five, and you're supposed to take the best five up here. It's the big leagues."

Leyland and Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski went against conventional wisdom when they put Porcello in the rotation after just one season of pitching at Single-A.

The risk, other than the obvious one that he wouldn't pitch well enough, is that he might have suffered a setback to his confidence or gotten hurt under a big-league workload, which can't be controlled as easily as in the minors.

"I'd be lying if I said I knew he was ready, but I'd be telling you the truth if I said he was one of the best five we had."
-- Tigers manager Jim Leyland on PorcelloSo far the former has not been an issue. Porcello leads American League rookies with eight victories and he's got a 3.90 ERA. He's made an impression on Leyland and the Tigers' veterans with the way he's handled himself on and off the mound.

As for the workload, the jury is still out on that one.

Porcello has pitched 83 innings, which will have him on pace to surpass last year's total of 125 by early August. There could be a lot of baseball left after that, perhaps deep into October. The Tigers are, after all, in first place.

"I think it's just something you watch closely," Leyland said. "It's not something you can etch in stone. We'll have to wait to see how it plays out. I take pride in taking care of all my pitchers, not just Rick Porcello."

Leyland said as of now he has not considered the possibility of handling Porcello differently to keep his innings down, either by sending him to the bullpen or having him miss a turn or two through the rotation.

For now, Leyland is simply keeping him on a relatively short leash when he pitches. Porcello has not thrown more than 99 pitches and has averaged 87 per start.

"I'm just going to go out and pitch whenever they want me to pitch," Porcello said. "I'll just go out and try to help us win for whatever amount of innings I'm given."

So far he's done that in his brief pro career.

Every year there are one or two former college pitchers who make it to the majors after one season or less in the minors, but it is rare for a pitcher drafted out of high school.

Porcello, the Tigers' first-round pick out of Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey in 2007, signed too late to pitch in the minors that season. He made his debut in 2008 at Single-A Lakeland. Coming in to big-league camp this year, he was a long-shot to make the rotation.

Most Wins by 20-Year-Old
Player	Team	Year	W
Dwight Gooden	NYM	1985	24
Bob Feller	CLE	1939	24
Chr. Mathewson	NYG	1901	20
Babe Ruth	BOS	1915	18
Harry Krause	PHA	1909	18
Johnny Lush	PHI	1906	18
CC Sabathia	CLE	2001	17
Don Drysdale	BRO	1957	17
Bert Blyleven	MIN	1971	16
Don Gullett	CIN	1971	16
Source: baseball-reference.com

"I didn't really know [what the chances were]," Porcello said. "I just went in there with the mindset of pitching as well as I can to get ready for the season and everything else will take care of itself."

Ace Justin Verlander said Porcello showed up in Lakeland a month before spring training, and the two worked out together. He said he's been impressed with Porcello from the start.

"It's pretty unbelievable," Verlander said. "On and off the field, this is not easy. He's displayed to me a lot of maturity. He's played like he's belonged from Day 1, which isn't easy to do, especially when you are 20."

Porcello has also shown an ability to adapt that is rare in pitchers so inexperienced. In April he went 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA. Since then, he is 9-2 with a 3.08 ERA.

"The impressive thing about that was early in the year he really wasn't controlling his off-speed stuff well," Verlander said. "He was able to go and get outs basically with one pitch."