The Philadelphia Phillies recently inked Cole Hamels to a one-year deal worth $15 million for next year, but that only delays the long-term deal Hamels is due after 2012.
Hamels is just 28 years old and has several factors in his favor: He’s a left-handed pitcher, he’s been incredibly successful in his six-year major league career, and he’s stayed relatively injury-free.
Hamels is 74-54 with a 3.39 lifetime ERA to go with a pair of All-Star selections, an NLCS MVP award, and a World Series MVP. He is coming off his best year ever, having gone 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA and career bests in complete games (3), WHIP (0.986), walks per nine innings (1.8), home runs per nine innings (0.8), and strikeout to walk ratio (4.41).
Hamels was a two-pitch guy when he won the World Series in 2008, effectively beating hitters with his fastball-changeup combo. Now that he’s added a cutter to his repertoire, he’s become one of the top 10 pitchers in the business.
Assuming Hamels can stay healthy and equal...
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