by Brad Tillery

The Lansing Lugnuts entered the 2008 baseball season as one of the youngest squads in the Midwest League. It is a team that is filled with talent, prospects, and youth. While that trend is evident throughout the roster, it may have been most glaring for the pitching staff, as the Lugnuts returned just three men who saw time on the mound last season for Lansing. But it has been the consistency of the two men that rejoined the starting rotation that has anchored the staff so far this season.

The journey to professional baseball could not have been more different for Kyle Ginley and Nate Starner. Ginley was a highly touted pitcher coming out of high school who was drafted three times before finally signing with Toronto in 2006 as a 17th round draft pick. The hard-throwing right hander attended a Junior College powerhouse at St. Petersburg and nearly came to a deal with the Cincinnati Reds as a draft-and-follow, but the contract could not be signed in time which put Ginley back on the market.

On the other hand, Starner found himself looking for a job after that same draft came and went without him being selected. Toronto signed the soft-tossing southpaw from Division II Shippensburg University, a small school in Pennsylvania,and sent him rookie level Pulaski, where he and Ginley would meet and forge a friendship that has lasted throughout their time together in baseball.

Kyle Ginley

The two men moved through the system together after the 2006 season and found themselves in the same starting rotation in 2007 with the Lugnuts. Each hurler threw well last year and were 1-2 in most pitching categories for the Lugnuts, helping the team reach an all-time high of 78 wins. However the Blue Jays felt that each had something left to prove in Low-A, so they found themselves back in Lansing to begin 2008. "Last year definitely made me more mature as a player," Ginley said. " I really learned how to pitch. I can't just throw my fastball anymore and get away with it. I had to learn how to use my secondary pitches, get early contact, and try to get a lot of ground balls in order to go deep into games."

Starner felt the same way after his first taste of full season baseball.

"I think that I developed more as a pitcher," he said. "I'm a lot more comfortable out there and know what I need to do to get outs."

But the man that has guided their development since last year believes that the there haven't been many changes in them since the end of last year. Instead, it is simply a continuation of implementing concepts that they have been learning since becoming a part of the Blue Jay organization.

"There really is no difference between them now and the conclusion of last season," pitching coach Tom Signore said. "They both have a good aptitude and have learned well since they have been here. The best thing for them is to get work in because they each have gotten better at repeating their deliveries more often and as a result, they are able to throw more quality pitches."

Along with becoming better on the field, the Ginley and Starner have forged a strong friendship off of it. But that friendship has also lead to a friendly rivalry that tends to bring out the best in each pitcher.

"It's cool to be back together," Starner said. "We room together in Lansing and on the road, so we try to push each other all season. Needless to say, there's lots of friendly talk between the two of us, but we definitely want to see each other do well." The ablilty to push each other day after day has been beneficial for the unlikely duo, who pitch on consecutive days in the starting rotation. Just last week, Ginley and Starner were honored as the Midwest League's co-pitchers of the week. "That was pretty sweet," Ginley said with a smile. "I'm happy for the both of us. We've been throwing well this season, but we still need to continue what we've been doing to help the team win."

Nate Starner

"They both have such good stuff and execute so well," Signore said. "That's what gets hitters off of their game, and they have become very good at doing that."

And as the two returning starters in a rotation loaded with players fresh from college, both Starner and Ginley have one key piece of advice.

"It's a long season," Starner said. "You have to get a routine that has a happy medium of work and rest to stay healthy all season."