The Verducci Effect - 2009 to 2010

This is something that has been examined before, by us, and just about every other baseball blog (including today at It's About the Money, Stupid). For those unfamiliar, the Verducci Effect is a way to red-flag pitchers 25 years old (and younger) whose innings total saw a jump of 30 innings from year to year. Let's have us a look at the minor-league system and see who fits for the Astros. (We won't look at players drafted in 2009. I'm not going back to everybody's college stats and adding that up. This also doesn't include AFL stats.)

Name	2009	IP	2010	IP	Diff.
Cisnero	2009	55.2	2010	133	+67.1
Trinidad	2009	21	2010	83.2	+62.2
Grimmett	2009	41.2	2010	97.2	+56
Urckfitz	2009	57.2	2010	109.2	+52
Cruz	2009	54.2	2010	99.2	+45
Arguello	2009	83	2010	127	+44
Wright	2009	63.2	2010	102.2	+39
Melancon	2009	69.1	2010	82	+29
Villar	2009	90	2010	108	+18
Alvino	2009	71.1	2010	87	+15.2
Godfrey	2009	51.1	2010	67	+15.2
Lyles	2009	144.2	2010	158.2	+14
Seaton	2009	136.2	2010	146.1	+9.2
Leon	2009	70.2	2010	77	+6.1
Pitkin	2009	68.1	2010	73	+4.2
Greenwalt	2009	139.1	2010	136.2	-2.2
Nevarez	2009	43.1	2010	38.1	-5
Del Rosario	2009	80.1	2010	74	-5.2
Wolf	2009	121.1	2010	114.1	-7
Wabick	2009	86.1	2010	74.2	-11.2
Norris	2009	175.2	2010	153.2	-18
Dydalewicz	2009	110	2010	83.2	-26.1
Abad	2009	96.2	2010	65	-31.2
S. Perez	2009	142.1	2010	107	-35.1

That's seven pitchers 25 or younger (drafted in 2008 or before) who saw a 30IP jump from 2009 to 2010. Of those pitchers:

-Jose Trinidad was placed on the DL in July 2010 and May 2009
-Doug Arguello was shut down with elbow trouble in August 2010 and put on the DL in June 2009.

As IATMS puts it:
It is, by no means, a hard and fast rule and Verducci himself is the first to admit it. But, it bears watching.