Gaudin Gets It Done In First Start For Padres

In Chad Gaudin's first start as a Padre, he went 5 innings giving up no runs on three hits. He did have four walks to go along with 5 strikeouts, so it was far from a dominating performance, but a great start with a new team.

What Kevin Towers has done with this pitching staff is fantastic. He had two front end starters to work with, and little else going into the year. He didn't go out and spend money, trade away the future, or rely on whatever he already had. He went out and dug through the trash. He found guys that were once considered front end starters of the future, but weren't cutting it. Guys that had a lot of potential, but for one reason or another, their respective clubs gave up on them.

Kevin Correira was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and the next year was named their #6 prospect in their organization by Baseball America. He had trouble earning a consistent spot on the roster, until 2007 when he was given a spot in the rotation and closed out the season with a 1.80 ERA over 7 starts. Last year, he turned 19 starts into a 3-8 record and a 6.50 ERA. Trashed.

Shawn Hill was drafted by the Montreal Expos and made his Major League debut in 2004. The next year he sat out and had Tommy John, and returned in 2006 only to get hurt for the rest of the year after two months. Then in 2007, he came out on fire, going six innings or more in six of his first seven starts, garnering attention as a bright spot for a terrible club through articles like this from the Washington Post. Elbow soreness, however, put him back on the DL, but he still managed a 3.42 ERA over 16 starts. In 2008 his season was cut short again by injury and the Nationals had had enough. Garbage. (note: Hill is on the DL again...imagine that)

Chad Gaudin was drafted by the Devil Rays where he bounced around between the bigs and AAA, and saw more of the same after being traded to the Blue Jays. He was then traded to the A's, who quickly pulled him up after 4 starts and .37 ERA for the triple-A River Cats. He threw in relief and finished with a 3.09 ERA and the fourth lowest rate for inherited runners scoring (20%). He got a shot in the starting rotation in 2007 and after three months had an 8-3 record with a 2.88 ERA. The next year, however, he was put back in the bullpen after an average finish to the previous year and was later traded with Rich Harden to the Cubs, who released him this month.

Three pitchers who have a lot of work left to do to be considered steals, but who all have potential to be quality starters. If one or two of these guys proves to be anything like they were once billed, then we can call Kevin Towers' dumpster diving genius work. Of course, Hill is currently sitting next to Mark Prior.

Padres Acquire Former Washington Starter Shawn Hill

Starter may be a bit of a stretch, but Shawn Hill was at one point not only a starter, but a potentially front end starter. He has had problems staying off of the DL, and that may have been the main reason the Nationals decided to release him. It is a sad state when you are picking up the Nationals throw aways, but this is a small and safe investment in another pitcher (see Kevin Correia) that has shown potential, but was given up on by his former club.

Hill has a career4.93 ERA and 7-15 record (most of which can be attributed to his former club), which is not that terrible. He started out the 2007 year going 4-5 with a 3.42 ERA and started to gain some attention before getting hurt again.

The Padres signed him to a minor league contract that will pay $500,000 if he makes the big league club. Well worth the investment, and if we can get him healthy (unlike the Mark Prior experience to date), then it may prove to be a steal.