Dominant Force: Trevor Cahill Looking Good
By Joseph Lopez
Coming into the season, many expected Trevor Cahill to be a key member of Oakland’s starting rotation, but through his first seven starts, Cahill is looking like Oakland’s ace. Cahill is currently 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA, and will be looking to improve to 6-0 after tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers.
Cahill went 18-8 last year with a 2.97 ERA, and so far Oakland’s young ace is proving that last season was no fluke. He ranks 2nd in baseball in ERA (1.79), just behind Florida’s Josh Johnson (1.68) and he’s been solid in most of his starts this season.
The A’s definitely made the right decision to lock up the young right-handed pitcher earlier this season, as his value seems to be increasing after each start. Oakland also has fellow youngster Brett Anderson locked up as well. I’ve said it many times in the past, but I’ll say it once more: Oakland has the makings for yet another “Big Three.”
Oakland’s pitching staff leads the majors in ERA (2.67), and ranks 5th in quality starts (23). Cahill is a big reason why Oakland has enjoyed success on the mound.
Cahill has put in 45.1 innings of work so far this year and has managed to record 38 strikeouts. And while he’ll probably never put up great strikeout numbers in his career, the A’s have to be happy with Cahill’s numbers thus far. He ranks second on the team in strikeouts, behind just Gio Gonzalez (4-2, 2.68 ERA) who has 41.
The success of the A’s this season really depends on their offense’s ability to score runs, but the team’s biggest strength is their starting rotation. The A’s young arms can carry a team into the post-season, but Oakland’s offense will need to start generating some run support.
Cahill-Anderson-Gonzalez is a nice trio to have, and can match up with any other rotation in baseball, but the A’s inability to score runs could hurt this team’s chances at capturing a division crown in 2011. Remember the days of Hudson-Mulder-Zito? This new version, the Big Three Version 2.0, is very similar except for one thing: they lack the offensive support that Hudson-Mulder-Zito had during the early 2000’s.