In case you missed it, Philip Humber cleared waivers and is headed for Oklahoma City. The player once drafted one pick after Justin Verlander back in 2004 was designated for assignment after falling to 0-8 with a 9.59 ERA in his first 9 appearances of 2013. Humber allowed 57 hits and 15 walks in just 35 2/3 innings and was letting opposing hitters bat .354 against him. I suppose it's no real surprise with numbers like that that he cleared waivers, but he accepted his assignment and gets a chance to work through his issues in AAA.
I'm actually on board with this move. As bad as Humber was, he did start the season strong (2.89 ERA through 3 starts), and even turned in one good relief appearance before his final meltdown against Texas. He's obviously got the potential to do well, and with none of Houston's starters really locking up spots in the rotation, why not keep him around to see if he can figure it out?
And let's face it. The RedHawks have a pair of starters done for the year (Rudy Owens and John Ely), while Paul Clemens, Jose Cisnero, Jordan Lyles and Dallas Keuchel are already in Houston, so the additional depth won't hurt. Humber will join his former rotation mate Brad Peacock on the RedHawks as 40% of Houston's Opening Day rotation is now in the minors. So far the demotion has worked well for Peacock as he's struck out 14 and only walked 1 in 11 innings of work. Hopefully things work out for Humber too.
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