So we're about a week into Spring Training now, and the fifth starter candidates have been through the motions at least once. How does it look so far?
| IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | |
| J.A. Happ | 5.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Carlos Carrasco | 5.0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Chan Ho Park | 3.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kyle Kendrick | 2.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What does this tell us that we didn't already know? Basically zilch. Carlos Carrasco got torched earlier today, falling victim to his one notable weakness -- his tendency to fall apart in the face of adversity. Apart from this, his raw stuff has been terrific as evidenced by his K/IP and K/BB numbers. He's certainly been the most exciting so far, but also the scariest.
Happ has only surprised me with his low strikeout numbers.
Could there be a better example of a Kyle Kendrick spring outing than that 2 2/3 inning stint last weekend? He got eight outs and allowed four hits, but no walks and no strikeouts. Kendrick seems more and more like the kind of pitcher who, if everything goes right and if he has a strong infield defense, can be a tolerable big league starter. But otherwise, he's going to get killed. He'll probably alternate effective/lucky seasons with dreadful/unlucky ones. He's a less tubby Carlos Silva.
Chan Ho Park is intriguing insofar as we should be able to determine in another outing or two whether he recaptured some of his old effectiveness while in the Dodgers bullpen last year, or if he's really cooked. He seems really dedicated, which is terrific -- I like a player who plays like he has something to prove.
We're going to revisit this battle repeatedly over the course of the spring, but if I had to nominate a favorite so far, it'd have to be Kendrick, probably by virtue of the fact that he has not completely imploded yet.