Career Profile: Matt Cain, RHP, San Francisco Giants
Per reader request, here is a Career Profile for Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants.
Matt Cain was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the 2002 draft, from high school in Germantown, Tennessee. The 25th overall pick in the draft, he threw 88-92 MPH in high school, showed a strong curve, and was physically projectable at 6-3, 180 pounds. His command was erratic in high school and some people felt he was a slight overdraft, but he performed well in rookie ball, posting a 3.72 ERA with a 20/11 K/BB in 19 innings with 13 hits allowed, and boosting his velocity to 92-94 MPH. I gave him a Grade B- in the 2003 book, noting that he had high upside but might take some time to develop.
2003 brought mixed results. His statistical performance for Low-A Hagerstown was excellent (2.55 ERA, 90/24 K/BB in 74 innings, just 57 hits). His velocity continued to climb, up to 96-97 MPH at times. He made progress with command of his curveball and improved his changeup. However, he missed the second half of the season with a stress fracture in his elbow, and there were significant concerns about his ability to stay healthy. I gave him a Grade B in the 2004 book, noting that "without the elbow problem, he'd be one of the most impressive pitching prospects in baseball. Even with it, he is a breakout candidate."
He stayed healthy in 2004 and broke out, posting a 1.86 ERA with an 89/17 K/BB in 73 innings for High-A San Jose, then a 3.55 ERA with a 72/40 K/BB in 86 innings for Double-A Norwich. His command wobbled after his promotion, but his mid-90s fastball, hard curve, and continually improving changeup gave him the look of a future ace. He also showed a terrific work ethic and mound presence. I was still somewhat worried about the elbow injury possibly recurring, but I rated him a Grade A- in the '05 book, ranked as the number 10 pitching prospect in baseball. I also noted the slippage in command at Double-A and wrote that if I was in charge, I would try to give him "a good 20 starts" in Triple-A to put the finishing touches on.
The Giants gave him 26 starts in Triple-A in '05, where he went 10-5, 4.39 with a 176/73 K/BB in 146 innings for Fresno with 118 hits allowed. Command issues were apparent, but his stuff was first-class and reflected in the K/IP and H/IP marks. He made his major league debut in late August as the youngest player in the National League and performed very well, posting a 2.33 ERA in seven starts with a 30/19 K/BB and a miniscule 24 hits allowed (.151 batting average against). I was still a little worried about recurrence of the elbow problem, plus reports that his velocity dipped at the end of the season. I kept him at a Grade A- in the '06 book, but that was enough to rank him as the Number Three pitching prospect in baseball behind Justin Verlander and Francisco Liriano.
Cain had a solid rookie season in 2006 (4.15 ERA, 108 ERA+, 179/87 K/BB in 191 IP, 3.5 WAR) and has been consistently strong ever since. Bad support from his teammates gave him a weak won-loss record in 2007 and 2008 (15-29) but he pitched quite well both years (WAR 4.0 and 3.7), and his teammates have given him better support since then. Overall he is 64-66, 3.43 ERA in 1202 innings, 995/438 K/BB, 1015 hits allowed, 124 ERA+, 3.77 FIP, 4.28 xFIP, 21.8 WAR.
Cain has seen a slight decline in his velocity (averaging 92.8 MPH in 2007, now down to 91.1) but his slider, curveball, and changeup give him a complete arsenal and his command has steadily improved, his BB/9 dropping from 4.11 in 2006 to 2.37 in 2011. His K/9 rates have remained steady in the mid-7.0s for the last five years, and he's been very durable, with no recurrence of any arm problems.
The list of statistically comparable pitchers through age 25: John Smoltz, Don Sutton, Andy Benes, Mark Baldwin (19th century guy), Ismael Valdez, Wally Bunker, Bill Dinneen (very effective pitcher at the turn of the century, won 170 games), Jose Rijo, Jake Peavy, and Dave Boswell (fireballer from the 60s who burned out fast). Several of those guys faded pretty quickly but all of them were excellent pitchers in their prime. Baseball Prospectus comps include Justin Verlander-2010, Freddy Garcia-2004, and Andy Benes-1995.
At age 26, Cain is past the classic injury nexus, and while he could certainly get hurt, he strikes me as a decent bet to stay healthy and durable. He's gained 40-50 pounds since his high school days, and this is a case of a projectable high school pitcher who turned out extremely well.
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