The Dodgers/Red Sox Trade

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

Lester is a solid number 2 or 3 pitcher and yes he could pitch on any rotation in the league. The thing is, they made plans for him as a number 1 guy and he simply hasnt been to this point.

Really? 2008-2011 he was one of the best 15 starters in baseball (probably top 10). Being that there are 30 teams that would make him not only a number 1 starter but one of the top number 1 starters. Compare his numbers to Cole Hamels who just got $165 million dollar contract. Lester is having a BAD year, no doubt. His he is allowing way more hits, HR's and BB's than he ever has and is striking out fewer which is a disturbing trend. However a young pitcher with an established track record that suddenly has a bad year is almost always a physical issue that they may or may not reveal.

Your statement is absolutely not correct. He was unquestionably a number 1 starter from the time he became a rotation regular in 2008 and this year he is unquestionably barely a number 5 starter based on his production or lack of it.