[Murphy3]

I'd love to see two of the following 5 step up and 'claim' a spot in the rotation next year with what they do to end the season: RicRod, Benoit, Dominguez, Loe, and even Volquez. I don't know that RicRod will be the guy. He appears to have the worst 'stuff' of the bunch. At best, I see him as a #4-5 guy..probably closer to #5. Benoit, Dominguez, Loe and Volquez all have a good enough #1 pitch to be #3 or better in the rotation. But, as we've seen with Benoit, just because you have the stuff doesn't mean that you can consistently use it.

I know that alot of people have wanted to see Benoit back in the pen, but I'm not ready to give up on him as a starter. I'd like to see at least a couple more starts to see how he bounces back from a rough outing. His offspeed has wicked movement.

As for Dominguez, only a mental collapse of epic proportions will keep this guy out of the rotation in my opinion. He has the best stuff of any of the young pitchers that I've seen. I know that the Buck/Hart combo doesn't like him, but if they have a problem with a guy with that kind of stuff that looks like he might be on the path to succeeding...then get Buck and Hart out of here.

With Loe, the guy is a pitcher. His biggest issue is that he doesn't consistently have the third pitch and doesn't consistently keep his sinker down. But, it's not like he's spent his entire career throwing a sinker. So, with time, I'm confident that he can consistently locate it better. If so, he can be a very, very good starter in the majors. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE how good this guy can be. His sinker has a chance to be one of if not the dominant sinker in the game. The bottom drops out of it while sometimes moving in to left handed hitters. At 92-93 MPH, that can be a very, very difficult pitch to hit.

I don't know alot about Volquez, and I missed the game. So, I'll leave it to others to comment on him. But, he appears to be the a bit ahead of Danks and Diamond at this point. So, hopefully he can step it up and earn a rotation spot in spring training.

My predictions:

Young
Dominguez
Loe
and two starters to be named later...possibly one via free agency or trade (if Soriano is moved).... possibly Kenny Rogers (although I have no problem with him not being a Ranger next year)...

I wouldn't mind seeing the Rangers using Benoit, Volquez and possibly Wilson in the pen next year. Anyone remember the Twins using Santana in the pen before moving him into the rotation? It might not be a bad idea to get his feet wet in the majors out of the pen, but that's just my humble opinion. Perhaps after a month or two in the minors next year, he can be moved up into the pen or to the rotation.

As for Wilson, I like the kids arm and I like the kids stuff. Obviously, something is wrong when you look at his ERA. Location! How many times have you seen a left handed hitter drive a 93mph fastball 400 feet when the pitch was down and in? Yet, Rangers announcers act as if throwing that pitch to a lefty is actually a good pitch. Sure, it is on some, but that is in general the sweet spot for left handed hitters. Yes, you might put the ball slightly out of the strike zone (low) on the edge of the inside part of the plate, but that is not a good place to throw to lefties. You have to either get the ball under their hands, up and in, or to some other part of the plate (if it's a fastball). Obviously, something other than a fastball way down and in is a different story, but I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. Get the ball under their hands, up and in, or away from the hitter....especially at TBiA.

Oh well...baby arm