I've seen Howard pitch twice this season, and both times he's simply dominated the opposition. In the first game, he struck out the first eight batters he faced and ended up with a league-high 16 punchouts. In the second game, he struck out a mere 10 batters but only one batter hit the ball with authority over 7 innings. He also only walked one batter in those two games; not at all what I'd expected given his pre-2001 track record.

So far, so good. Right? The downside is that with the abundance of pitching prospects assembled by the Padres, Howard does face some stiff competition within the organization. But with his combination of professional experience, relative youth, and good stuff, I suspect he could pop onto the big-league scene a bit more quickly than many pitchers working in Class-A.

Howard is probably next in line for a promotion to Double-A Mobile. If he can maintain his solid ratios at that level, he just might be a dark-horse candidate for the Padres rotation next spring. More likely, though, he'll continue to refine his game in the high minors and look toward a September 2002 arrival, with a chance to stick in 2003. Either way, he looks like a potential workhorse for the Padres in the near future.

2001 Stats (through July 12)

  IP   H   R  ER  HR  BB   SO   ERA
96.1  80  33  29   3  31  102  2.71

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