Background: The New York Mets selected Kazmir 15th overall in the 2002 draft. He emerged as a top prospect, striking out more hitters than innings pitched at each minor-league level with the Mets. Even as his status grew, however, concern swelled. The organization feared his pitching motion and smallish 6-foot frame left him at risk for an elbow ligament injury. They were also worried about his off-field behavior. He wrecked former teammate Justin Huber’s car before he was dealt along with pitcher Jose Diaz for pitchers Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato.
What’s up: The 22-year-old has become part of baseball lexicon among baseball GMs, who are vice-gripping their top minor-leaguers for fear of “pulling a Kazmir.” That’s because Kazmir, a couple years ahead of schedule, has become a star. He has a 7-3 record with a 2.86 ERA. His brilliant season can be traced to effective command. He lost four of his first six decisions a year ago, with 30 walks in 56 2/3 innings. This season he has issued just 23 free passes in 69 1/3 innings, while showing an ability to pitch to both sides of the plate with his fastball, slider and changeup.
What’s next: His family and friends should start hitting Orbitz hard, searching for hotel rooms in Pittsburgh around mid-July. Kazmir’s first all-star appearance appears a foregone conclusion.
Renck’s take: Kazmir is everything that can go wrong with a knee-jerk decision. The Mets sat six games behind the Braves on July 30, 2004, when they acquired Zambrano and Kris Benson in separate deals five minutes apart. Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson thought he could fix Zambrano, believing his problems were tied to a single mechanical flaw. So the flame-throwing Kazmir was gone and Zambrano flamed out, wrecking his elbow last month in a career-threatening injury. What Kazmir has shown baseball is not that prospects should never be traded. It’s that they must bring back star power in return – in this case, Carlos Zambrano instead of Victor would have represented a fairer exchange.
