2009 Season: Since Brandon McCarthy made the most starts of the remaining group of possibilities for next season (Matt Harrison, Dustin Nippert, etc.), we'll call him the fifth starter.
McCarthy showed he could actually pitch deeper into games. He had six starts in May -- twice going seven innings and a complete-game shutout against Houston. For a guy who hadn't prior gotten past the seventh inning, that was a big deal. McCarthy also changed his delivery to help with his shoulder issues. McCarthy worked on a slider, which may have been more like a slurve, and showed that he could get batters out consistently.
But the biggest issue of his career continues to be injuries. McCarthy just can't stay off the disabled list. A stress fracture in his shoulder blade has sidelined him two different seasons. In 2009, he was pitching well -- 3-2 with a 3.79 ERA in May -- before he went on the DL. McCarthy came back and made six starts to finish the season and was inconsistent.
2010 Outlook: No matter what happens to McCarthy, he'll forever be linked to lefty John Danks, as both were the key components of a trade before the 2007 season. Danks has stayed healthy; McCarthy hasn't -- at least so far.
But McCarthy finally showed some signs that he has the ability to pitch at the major league level. The question now is whether he can keep himself on the field and out of the training room. McCarthy's other challenge is getting out of his own head. He's a smart guy that analyzes everything. And, in my opinion, he can overthink things. He seemed to get better about that in 2009, and I would expect that to continue.
It also helps McCarthy to work with Mike Maddux. The Rangers pitching coach spoke highly of McCarthy, but in order to really get changes and improvements with mechanics to stick, McCarthy has to stay healthy.
Unlike previous seasons, McCarthy won't have the inside track to a spot in the rotation. He'll have some stiff competition. We'll look at those guys Friday.
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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.
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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.
