Kyle Drabek, Future Cy Young or Future Sigh?

Kyle Drabek could possibly become the greatest pitcher in baseball for the next 15 years, but the chances of that happening are very slim. In fact, I am glad we got rid of Drabek. The Phillies, who are one of the oldest franchises in baseball, have rarely had a homegrown stud pitcher in the past 60 years.

Every year the Phillies have a new “future ace” pitcher, and every year the guy either fizzles out, or the next year is still struggling at the minor-league level (e.g. Scott Mathieson).

Kyle Drabek, a 22-year-old who has already had Tommy John surgery, is more likely to become the next Carlton Loewer (remember him? Of course not, he was terrible) before he become the next Robin Roberts.

The Phillies seemingly do a great job of picking position players in the draft (Utley, Howard, Ruiz, Rollins), at least in recent memory. The best pitcher to be drafted by the Fightin’ Phils has been Cole Hamels, who, other than his terrific 2008 postseason, has not been the so-called “ace” we assumed he would immediately be.

Our last two “can’t-miss” pitchers, Carlos Carrasco and Kyle Drabek, are now wearing Indians and Blue Jays uniforms, respectively. I will make the bold prediction now that Phillies fans will not be losing any sleep in the upcoming seasons about having a rotation without Carrasco and Drabek.

Kyle Drabek, enjoy your stay north of the border. Maybe someday you can follow your father’s footsteps and earn a Cy Young award, but I feel your career will simply be a “sigh.”

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