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Cole Hamels
Hamels was sent to the Texas Rangers last season from the Philadelphia Phillies as they continue their rebuild.
The Rangers knew that they were getting a solid ace and a guy who still has a good few years left in the tank.
So far this season Hamels has given the Rangers just what they wanted. He has picked up two wins in his first two starts while maintaining an ERA of just 2.08 ERA. He is keeping hitters in check by inducing ground balls 74.2 percent of the time and also struck out 12 batters as well. That ground ball rate is obviously unsustainable over the course of the season, but Hamels keeping the ball down is a good early season sign.
He earned his two wins against two pretty tough opponents in the Mariners and Angels. He gave up solo homers to Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano in his first game, but those are two batters that you don’t feel bad about giving up home runs to.
Hamels is in his age 32 season and is in the tougher American League now, so whether or not he can dominate like he has in the National League is to be determined. It does help his cause that he doesn’t have to worry about stepping into the batter’s box quite as much, though.
