MLB

How Will the Top Rookie Pitchers From Last Season Perform in 2015?

Sal Cacciatore  —  @SCacc8 Mar 23rd, 2015
After breaking onto the scene in 2014, last year's most valuable rookie hurlers will look to sustain their success this year.

2014 was a solid year for rookie pitching and marked the first time since 2009 there were five rookie pitchers worth at least 3.0 rWAR.

Aside from being fun to watch, the group did not have a ton in common, ranging from relief ace Dellin Betances to $155 million man Masahiro Tanaka to Astros hurler Collin McHugh, whose success was one of the pleasant surprises of the season.

McHugh led the way in rWAR (4.2), followed by Betances (3.7), Tanaka (3.3 rWAR in just 136 innings before a two-month stint on the disabled list), Kansas City’s Yordano Ventura (3.2) and the Mets’ Jacob deGrom (3.1).

These players also made the top six in fWAR, with the Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman tying McHugh with 3.3 wins above replacement. (Stroman, who will miss the 2015 season with an injury, makes the FanGraphs list as opposed to the Baseball Reference thanks strong peripherals, rather than run prevention, posting a 2.84 FIP.)

Given their strong debut campaigns, how will McHugh, Betances, Tanaka, Ventura and deGrom perform in 2015?

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