Drunk on Drabek

Later this evening, most of us will be drooling over Kyle Drabek in his big league debut (those who get Sportsnet One at least), and admittedly one can’t help but be drunk on Drabek.

The move to bring up Drabek seemingly came out of nowhere, especially considering Alex Anthopoulos hinted most of the season that the Blue Jays highly touted prospect would remain in the minor leagues this year.

While I’m thrilled to see Kyle Drabek toss for the Blue Jays tonight, forgive me if I’m a little apprehensive from this news. In my mind, there’s nothing wrong with coddling your most prized prospect.

Drabek tossed 162 innings in New Hampshire this season, plus another six in the playoffs which makes 168 total innings. He threw 158 innings last year in the Phillies farm system, which makes a 6.3 percent increase in innings from 2009 to 2010.

If we’re using the Verducci Effect as a benchmark, then Kyle Drabek should be safe to throw another 20 innings or so over the course of his three scheduled starts with the Blue Jays.

After that evidence was presented, I’m not quite as worried about Drabek blowing out his arm since he really isn’t getting stretched out that much more compared to 2009. Personally, I’m about 50 percent nervous and 50 percent excited in anticipation of his very first start.

As the organization’s most prized possession in the minors, the Blue Jays are best to treat Kyle Drabek with kid gloves. At the same time though, it’s not a bad idea to parade Drabek out there for the fans and the stockholders to get a preview of what’s to come from a guy who just so happens to be the son of a former Cy Young Award Winner.

Luckily for the Blue Jays, that kind of trait is passed down through the family bloodline … right? I guess we’ll find out soon enough with Kyle Drabek and in about 20 years when Braden and Ryan Halladay start pitching in the majors.

In the grand scheme of things, this one start that isn’t going to make or break Kyle Drabek. Whether he throws a no-hitter or gets yanked in the top of the first inning, it’s all pretty inconsequential when it comes to the big picture of his career with this team.

That being said, it’s nice to see the one of the prospects from the Roy Halladay deal paying dividends less than a year after the trade went down.

In a way, I guess you can say Doc passed the proverbial torch over to Kyle Drabek … even if that means he can’t pick it up and run with it for a few more years.

Image courtesy of Pat & Christin