When Joe Saunders joined the Los Angeles Angels for two spot starts in 2005, he didn’t seem ready to be able to contribute on a regular basis.
The left-hander earned the opportunity by compiling a 10-7 record that included two shutouts between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Salt Lake. Saunders pitched well in his first start, but lasted just two innings in the second. He had no decisions, but his 7.71 ERA was not ready for prime time.
Saunders pitched even better to begin this season back at Salt Lake, with a 10-4 record and 2.67 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. The Angels put him in their rotation when Bartolo Colon went on the disabled list (DL). Saunders won his first four starts with a 1.67 ERA.
The last of those was at Yankee Stadium. After the game, Saunders said, “I was nervous here, but every outing is getting a little easier to relax.”
By mid-August, Saunders and Jered Weaver, who had been called up from Salt Lake earlier this season, were a combined 12-0 as 40 per cent of the Angels’ rotation.
Manager Mike Scioscia also seemed to relax. He said it wasn’t a problem having the youngsters in key positions would hurt the Angels in pennant-race pressure. “What they lack in experience they make up in confidence and their ability to bring their game on to the mound.”
The big difference for Saunders this season is that he has improved his off-speed pitches – changeup, curve and slider – to make it more difficult for big-league batters to figure out what he’ll throw in a given situation.
A first-round draft pick (12th overall) in 2002 out of Virginia Tech, Saunders missed all of 2003 because of a frayed labrum in his shoulder.
Instead of surgery, he opted for aggressive rehabilitation, then came back the next year to total 13 wins between high Class A Rancho Cucamonga and Arkansas. By July, when he reached the majors presumably to stay, Saunders had a 38-23 career record in the minors.
- Lary BUMP
