2009 Season: Let's look at big right-hander Tommy Hunter. Perhaps no young pitcher in the organization showed more improvement last year than Hunter. He got made his major league debut in 2008 and had three struggling starts -- 20 runs allowed in 11 innings for 16.36 ERA.
So Hunter started the season at Double-A. Before the season began, he talked about how much he learned from those 11 innings and that he knew 2009 would be better. Hunter was right. He didn't light up Double-A by any means, but showed signs that his command was coming together. To challenge him more, the Rangers moved him up to Triple-A in May, and Hunter went 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA in 49 1/3 innings.
A doubleheader against forced the Rangers to call on Hunter on May 29. He gave up three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in a win, and then was sent back down for a month. When the Rangers again needed a starter, Hunter was recalled. This time, he wouldn't allow the Rangers to ship him back to the minors. Hunter showed he could command all four of his pitches, thanks to much-improved changeup and a nice cutter, and kept hitters off-balance. He said the biggest thing he learned was how to use the pitches more effectively in certain counts. All of that came with experience.
Hunter appeared to tire in September -- his ERA was 6.55 for the month. But it was clear he had figured something out this season, and he enters the offseason with some confidence.
2010 Outlook: Two spots in the rotation are apparently written in ink -- Kevin Millwood and Scott Feldman. If that's true, Hunter's name has to be written in pretty heavy pencil. He certainly showed enough in his 19 major league starts to be a member of this rotation.
Hunter's progress is exactly what the Rangers hope to see in the rest of their young staff. Now his mission is to keep refining those pitches in the offseason, arrive to spring training in shape and be ready to answer any questions about his spot in the rotation.
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Contributors
Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
Ben Rogers
Ben Rogers joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of the "GameNight with Ben & Skin" show, heard weekdays from 6p-9p on 103.3 FM ESPN.
