...In this week's installment of Starting 9, we look at nine contending teams (and 11 pitchers) who are trying to strike a balance between short-term goals and long-range thinking while counting innings down the stretch.


They have Mat Latos ranked #1, and Jaime Garcia ranked #3. Here's the blurb on Bumgarner ranked #4:

"He's got [guts]," a National League scout said of Bumgarner. "He pitches with his fastball and he's not afraid to challenge anybody."

That includes baseball royalty. In a 6-3 win over St. Louis on Friday, Bumgarner pumped in first-pitch fastball strikes to Albert Pujols at 95, 94 and 93 mph in their first three encounters. Bumgarner threw a 77 mph curveball for a strike to begin their fourth matchup, and Pujols eventually homered over the center-field fence.

While Bumgarner's poise and stuff are terrific, he's only three years removed from South Hudson High in Caldwell, N.C., and just turned 21. He's already surpassed his 2009 total of 141 innings, and threw 100-plus pitches in five straight outings in July. Rick Porcello, who came out in the same draft class with Bumgarner, topped 100 pitches only four times last season in Detroit. Porcello hasn't been the same pitcher this year, although lots of baseball people chalk it up to growing pains rather than overuse.

Bumgarner is a horse at 6-4, 215, and as the Giants showed with Tim Lincecum, they're not inclined to baby young pitchers. In Bumgarner's case, there's no Plan B. After the big five of Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez and Bumgarner, San Francisco's best starting option is 27-year-old Eric Hacker, who has 16 wins for Triple-A Fresno. While the Giants have been hoarding outfielders, they've left themselves with little choice but to ride Bumgarner to the finish line.