Though he's already 25 and just manhandled the Rays in his first start Sunday, Red Sox starting pitcher Rubby De La Rosa does have some strikes against him.
Namely, his ability to throw strikes.
In his only other stint as a big-league starting pitcher in 2011 with Dodgers, he issued 31 walks in 60 2/3 innings, which was in line with his minor-league numbers. Prior to his promotion this year, he had issued 3.9 walks per nine innings in 10 starts for Triple-A Pawtucket.
Of all he did in his start against the Rays, what I'm buying least is the zero walks. As the prize of the deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers a couple years ago (other than, you know, salary relief), De La Rosa has a high ceiling and the kind of stuff that could eventually make him a big source of strikeouts, but given his walk rate up to this point in his career, you can't expect every start to be as easy as this first one.
The Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman, meanwhile, has similar strikeout potential and throws strikes consistently, issuing just 2.3 walks in seven starts at Triple-A Buffalo. They're both sleepers, but if I was choosing between the two, I'd go Stroman.