After the last several years, I never thought I would put Kevin Millwood and legitimate ace in the same sentence but he has proven me wrong this year. After last night's 7 inning performance only allowing a Pudge home run and striking out 6, Millwood (7-4) has won 3 consecutive starts. Not only is he playing like an ace, you can stack his numbers up against Roy Halladay and the other aces in the league:
Millwood: 7-4, 99.2 IP, 55 Ks, 2.62 E.R.A.
Halladay: 10-1, 103 IP, 88 Ks, 2.53 E.R.A.
Any guy that can match Halladay after 14 starts deserves to be called an "ace". He has been the anchor for the Rangers when they needed him most: after losing streaks. He was also the guy that Nolan singled out to elevate his game, he worked the "extra inning" all year, and Kevin provides great leadership for this pitching staff.
Now that we have an ace, we need a legit #2 for this rotation. The solution is Ben Sheets in my opinion. He could be here in August and would be in mid-season form by playoff time. Padilla and Feldman could hold down the #2 and #3 slots until he gets here. Imagine for a second that Millwood, Sheets, and a good Padilla is your playoff rotation with a solid lineup. That would put the Rangers in prime position to win at least a playoff series.
Do you think Millwood and Sheets are front-end playoff pitchers? Who do you want the Rangers to get for the rotation or the bullpen? Give us your thoughts!
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