When the San Francisco Giants called up Matt Cain in August of 2005, he made his debut as the second youngest pitcher in the major leagues. Now in his seventh season as a big leaguer, Cain is a seasoned veteran with a laundry list of accomplishments to his credit. He finished last year’s World Championship season with a 13-11 record with a 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 177 strikeouts, 61 walks, 223 innings pitched and four complete games (including two shutouts).
In May alone, he pitched into the sixth inning or later in each of his six starts while giving up nine earned runs on 23 hits with 35 strike outs and 18 walks with an 1.81 ERA. He was instrumental in the Giants’ regular season success last year and even more so in their postseason World Series run. Despite his track record of success, he is rarely included in the list of current upper echelon pitchers, and there are five main reasons why.