Scott Kazmir's Progress Leads to Rumblings Throughout MLB

Two games into Scott Kazmir’s Winter League season and he is sitting with a 0-1 record and an ERA of 6.00. 

While most would look at that and not even have a second thought, to others, including Major League Baseball scouts, it tells a very different story. 

Kazmir is one of those tales about a highly talented athlete that has fallen upon hard times. Once one of the best left-handers the game has seen in quite some time, he is working his way through the Independent League and Winter League to reclaim a spot that used to be his. 

Recently, Kazmir had a great first outing with the Gigantes de Carlina (see previous article on The GM’s Perspective), unfortunately his second start wasn’t as solid, as seen on MLB.com. 

Giving up four runs in four innings isn’t that bad, but the four walks stick out like a sore thumb. For someone on the road back to the “Bigs” four walks in four innings is the last thing you want on your line. 

On a positive note, according to Buster Olney’s twitter account, Kazmir is being scouted by several teams, 

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“Scott Kazmir's second start in winter ball wasn't as good as his first start. http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=l132&t=p_pbp&pid=431148 … He's being scouted by multiple teams”. 

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And that’s all that matters at this point. 

He is obviously still working himself in to game shape, not yet at 100 innings if you combine his Winter League starts with his time with the Sugar Land Skeeters. In the end talent just doesn’t disappear. Mix in hard work with a true dedication to your craft, and only good things can happen.

Devon is a manager at a financial institution in Northern Ontario, Canada, and he can be reached at [e-mail]. You can follow the GM's Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.