2011 MLB Spring Training: Starlin Castro and 10 Breakout Stars to Watch
The 2010 baseball season was the Year of the Pitcher, at least according to almost everyone that wanted to shove that down our throats. In reality, 2010 was the Year of the Rookie. Many teams had rookies who had great seasons, and there were 7-10 rookies that would have automatically won the Rookie of the Year Award in any other year.
These rookies will become second-year veterans next year, and while some are expected to slump, some will remain great. This slideshow is not about these rookies who are already household names—like Jason Heyward or Buster Posey—but those young players who are on the brink of stardom, ready to prove that they belong in the league.
Who will be this year's Jose Bautista or Joey Votto? Here are 10 breakout stars to watch during and after spring training.
Starlin Castro, SS, Chicago Cubs
1 of 10
How do I know he'll be a breakout star? He has star in his name, so you know he's great.
In all seriousness, though, Castro showed great promise this past season. As a rookie, he hit .300 and he is a good offensive option. His problem is that his defense is lackluster. If he can at least improve to average at shortstop, and if he can lock down the No. 2 spot (he doesn't quite have the speed for leadoff), then he'll be a viable piece for the Cubs for many years to come.
Even if doesn't break out this year, he's only 20, so he has time.
Carlos Santana, C, Cleveland Indians
2 of 10
In only 46 games in the majors, Carlos Santana showed a lot of promise before missing the rest of the season to injury. He managed six home runs and 22 RBI in those 46 games on a team that didn't have much of a power presence outside of Shin-soo Choo.
While Choo is finally starting to become a household name, Santana will have a breakout year for the Indians, becoming the cleanup power bat that the Indians originally got Matt LaPorta for. The key stat from last year that will show his greatness in 2011 is the 37 walks against 29 strikeouts. If he can keep that kind of pace, then he'll prove himself as a star.
Gio Gonzalez, P, Oakland Athletics
3 of 10
Last year, Trevor Cahill became a name thrown around Cy Young discussions after winning 18 games and keeping his ERA under 3.00. This year, Gio Gonzalez will make us forget about his teammate by having a breakout season of his own.
Picking an Athletics pitcher to have a breakout year is almost a safe bet, and you can almost consider Gonzalez's 2010 season to be a breakout one, after going 15-9 with a 3.23 ERA. I see his 2011 stats looking like Cahill's with one big difference: he had 171 Ks last year while Cahill had 118. I can see Gonzalez hitting 200.
.png?w=256)
Daniel Hudson, P, Arizona Diamondbacks
4 of 10
Hudson had a great rookie season, yet no one seemed to talk about him. He was traded by the Chicago White Sox for Edwin Jackson, and what a steal that's been already for Arizona. In 11 starts, he went 7-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 70 strikeouts.
Will be duplicate this performance in 2011? No. Will he make his presence known and have a great year? Absolutely. He has shown great control so far, and he won't have too much pressure to worry about, playing on a D'Backs team that isn't going anywhere. Come August or September, everyone will be wondering who this guy is and wondering how he was so good yet so under the radar.
Kila Ka'aihue, DH, Kansas City Royals
5 of 10
Everyone is expecting Mike Moustakas to have a great rookie year when the Royals bring him up later in the season, and they will once they can hold off free agency for one more year. Another young gun who I see having a big year is one few might expect: Kila Ka'aihue.
While Ka'aihue is a first baseman, the Royals have Billy Butler wrapped up, so he will likely be the DH for them this season. This fits well, because he's got a good bat. He had eight home runs in 52 games, and if he can work on hitting a few more flyballs, he could definitely hit 30 as a full-time DH. He won't be a perennial All-Star, but he can provide power in the middle of the lineup alongside Butler.
Madison Bumgarner, P, San Francisco Giants
6 of 10
Bumgarner has already proven himself by having a solid rookie year. While 2010 was meant to show he could hang with major league talent, 2011 will show that he can handle other top-level pitchers. He went 7-6 last year with an ERA of three; certainly he will have a much better record this year.
The Giants' rotation with Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and now Bumgarner could be one of the toughest in baseball, and if Bumgarner can keep his 3-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, he will become a clear breakout star this year. He's already a star in San Francisco and now's the time to be a star elsewhere.
Brett Gardner, LF, New York Yankees
7 of 10
While Derek Jeter and the old guard show signs of slowing down, and the new guard is led by Robinson Cano, another young player will emerge. That player will be Brett Gardner.
It's almost hard to believe that he's not a star already, given that he plays for the Yankees. Now that he's in the lineup every day, he's showing his speed while continuing to improve his hitting. His OBP gets better every year, and if he can crack the 100-run mark (which he should, given he's on the Yankees), then he'll emerge as a star to team with the already-proven Cano.
Mike Stanton, RF, Florida Marlins
8 of 10
Mike Stanton was heralded as the next big thing along with Jason Heyward last season. While he was good, in the end Gaby Sanchez got praise as the next big rookie out of Florida. In his 100 games, though, Stanton set a good starting point for having a breakout year in 2011.
In 100 games, Stanton had 22 home runs and 59 RBI, but also had a huge number of strikeouts and an okay .259 batting average. He will always hit 100 Ks in a season, as evident by his minor league stats and the fact that this is considered acceptable behavior now, but he will also hit 30-plus home runs and be the force the Marlins now need with the loss of Dan Uggla.
Ricky Romero, P, Toronto Blue Jays
9 of 10
When Shaun Marcum was traded from the Blue Jays to the Brewers, it made it clear who was expected to be the ace moving forward: Ricky Romero. In two full seasons, he's had 14 and 13 wins with a career ERA around 4.00. He's also lighting people up and striking them out, throwing 174 last season.
I see him being the breakout pitching star this year. He could easily get an All-Star nod while leading the Blue Jays, and 18 wins is not out of the question, even if the Blue Jays end up going nowhere. The only thing he has to watch is his wild pitch count: his 18 led the league last year.
Drew Storen, P, Washington Nationals
10 of 10
The second-best pitcher the Washington Nationals chose in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft, Storen has already started to make an impact on the team, getting five saves in his rookie season. He is the favorite to land the closing job for the Nationals in 2011.
In my mind, not only will he do this, but he will become one of the top closers in the league, at least for one season. He has a good strikeout rate and limits the number of hits he gives up. His problem right now is that his earned runs were almost half the number of hits. Most elite closers have one-fourth the number of earned runs as hits. If he can fix that, he'll be set for a breakout year.
.png?w=480)
