Twins Harden Up For Starting Pitching

Haha, fantastic pun I know. ESPN Chicago is reporting that the Cubs have placed RHP Rich Harden on waivers and that he has been claimed by an AL team, reported to be the Minnesota Twins. Harden has a 4.38 FI this year, and is projected to have a 3.56 FIP going forward. He has been striking out a ridiculous 10.38 batters per 9 innings, but has been walking nearly 4. Harden has also gotten a little bit lucky BABIP wise, and you have to pull back on his numbers a bit if you adjust for going from the NL to the AL, but he still has fantastic stuff and would be an obvious improvement to the starting staff.

Harden’s changeup has been the best in baseball this year, as hitters have missed nearly half the time they have swung at it this season. He also has almost a 19% whiff rate with his fastball. Quite frankly, the fact that he has not only survived but pitched well with just two pitches is a testament to his ability.