"Less than two years later, the 20-year-old made his major league debut, giving up two runs and striking out seven in six innings as he fired 97 mph fastballs and a big curveball, impressing then-Dodgers manager Joe Torre. "He's the real deal," the Hall of Fame skipper said. Kershaw was still a work in progress, working on his command and relying almost exclusively on only those two pitches until he started throwing his slider the following season."
"With the 10th pick of that 2006 draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks took Scherzer. Concerned that his violent delivery would eventually lead to arm problems, the Diamondbacks later traded him to the Tigers, where he and Verlander -- whom Detroit selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2004 draft -- teamed up for five seasons, from 2010 to 2014. That team would win four consecutive American League Central titles and reach a World Series."
The Detroit Tigers nearly drafted Clayton Kershaw with the sixth pick in the 2006 draft but instead selected Andrew Miller after the Kansas City Royals chose Luke Hochevar and other teams passed on Miller. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Kershaw with the seventh pick. Kershaw debuted at age 20, firing 97 mph fastballs and a big curveball, striking out seven in six innings, and earned praise from Joe Torre. Kershaw added a slider the following season and posted an ERA below 3.00 in 13 of his next 15 seasons. Max Scherzer, taken tenth, was later traded to Detroit and teamed with Justin Verlander from 2010-2014, helping the Tigers win four straight AL Central titles and reach a World Series. Kershaw retired after winning a World Series last fall.
Read at ESPN.com
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