Philip Humber was a star for the Big Three at Rice University. After declining to sign with the Yankees after being drafted out of high school in 2001, he gave college a go. There he pitched stellar baseball alongside Jeff Niemann, who you know from the Tampa Bay Rays rotation.
The third member, Wade Townsend, made up a trio of starters that went on to win the 2003 College World Series. After winning the CWS, his hometown gave him a "Philip Humber Day" parade and event. During his 2004 college season, Humber was 13-4 with a 2.27 ERA, and a 17 strikeout game against Hawai'i.
Humber was drafted third overall in the 2004 MLB draft by the New York Mets. He was drafted ahead of Jered Weaver. He was immediately given a $3.7MM signing bonus. He pitched in 2005 Mets Spring Training and was sent to Single-A afterward. He went 2-6 with a 4.99 ERA before being moved up to AA. He left his first AA game early due to injury, one that would require the dreaded Tommy John Surgery.
He made his comeback in 2006, and after a good start in AA, he was called up to the Mets in late September where he made his Major League debut from the bullpen. He made his first start during the Mets epic collapse a year later in late September 2007, where he made a bland start in a no decision that would eventually be lost by the Mets.
Humber was traded before the next season to the Minnesota Twins as part of the blockbuster deal the Mets made for Johan Santana. He only made five appearances for the Twins in 2008 and 2009, all from the pen. He pitched poorly with a high WHIP and 6.09 ERA. He was designated for assignment at the end of 2009.
Humber signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals. While pitching for Omaha in June, he got hit in the face on a line drive. He was taken to the hospital, but was ok. He got called up in August, and made a start on August 21, against the White Sox. The Sox shelled him but the Royals won the game. He would make all of his subsequent appearances out of the pen. The A's would claim him off waivers in December 2010. The A's waived him just a month later, and the White Sox claimed him.
So that brings us to this season. Phil Humber really has come out of nowhere this year and it's a great story. I did not really have good feelings about the guy, since I had known about his struggles throughout his career. I felt that he was just another name on the long list of highly touted prospect busts. So far, he has made me eat crow, but it is the best tasting crow of all.
Humber started the year pitching out of the bullpen but was quickly given a chance to start. He started his first game on April 9th, and allowed just 1 run in 6 innings for the victory. In his next start, errors combined with the Sox inadequate offense lead to his first loss; despite giving up only 2 earned runs. In his next start, he allowed four earned runs and took another loss. I was starting to believe he was evening out as his old self.
Then on April 25th, he pitched the best game of his career. It was the first game he had ever thrown 7 innings at the Major League level. He gave up no earned runs over those seven innings, and only allowed one hit on route to a 2-0 victory. Did I mention this was against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium? Eating crow.
Feathers And All
He has pitched very well over his last 7 starts, going 3-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.87. Every time Humber goes out on the mound, I am excited knowing that we're going to get more than just a quality start, we're going to get a solid start. He may not be the strikeout king that he was at Rice, averaging 3.9 per start, but he's very efficient. He's not allowing base runners, posting a very low 0.95 WHIP in his 11 starts.
I was watching his first few starts saying "Okay, will this be the game where he falls apart and loses it?" but now I am watching saying "How great is this kid?!" He has apparently remembered who he was from his Rice days, and pitched like a top prospect this season. It's a good story, to fall off the mountain, and start that climb back up to at least the middle at this point.
I wish him all the best and hope he continues to pitch well for the rest of the season. We need him to be a strong part of our rotation, especially if Peavy cannot stay healthy. He will be vital to the success of our team this summer. He's been so solid, that I have even picked him up in a few fantasy leagues. It took him seven years to get here, but he's arrived finally. Good luck Phil, keep up the great work and take it one start at a time.
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