The real anomaly in Houston with Gervacio was his GO/AO ratio. His K ratio is always high and his BAA was similar between AAA and Houston (.223-.219). Gervacio did a much better job keeping the ball on the ground at Houston, though. His GO/AO ratio was very strong at 2.89, while he’s usually closer to neutral. You are right to guess that his command is a struggle, BA wrote that he does have trouble commanding his FB in their last handbook. He also has a tendency to rely on his slider when a FB would work. He does have a great slider, though as I remember a story from ST a couple of years ago where Chipper Jones turned around to Ausmus and asked him “what was that?!” after a pitch.

I’m not too worried about Seaton. He didn’t strike out as many guys as people wanted to see, but there is value in knowing how to get guys out and not being afraid to pitch to contact. After him and Lyles, there are still other guys. Bushue you mentioned, though to add to it, he was diagnosed with a couple of stress fractures in his spine during the summer. It apparently wasn’t a new injury, as he missed some time during his HS season from his back. The upside to this is that it’s not something that will derail his career and he impressed the club enough despite the injury that they drafted him in the second round. It will be fun to see how he develops once healthy.

After those three, you still have Keuchel, who could be ready in ’11, Luis Cruz could be someone to watch, as is Fernando Abad, who they are stretching out as a starter in Winter Ball. Like Cruz, Juri Perez is a lower-level guy with good potential. He runs his FB at 88-93, sitting at 91, with a great change. Once he improves his curve, he could be a mid-rotation guy.

I wouldn’t write off Bono, either. His K/9 isn’t high, but he does a good job keeping the ball on the ground, rarely walks hitters (19 in 143+), rarely gives up HR (5), and is still only 20. Whether he develops into a big-league starter is debatable, but I wouldn’t really call him an overachiever, as you can find guys at any level with a similar profile who get similar results. Look at Derek Lowe’s minor-league stats sometime. He posted similar K/9 rates, similar H/9 rates, gave up few HR, but gave up about 2 more BB/9. Yet, Lowe has had a very good MLB career. Doesn’t mean he will be Derek Lowe, but he could.