Verducci Lists Hill as a Potential Breakout Player

SI.com's Tom Verducci provides his list of 10 potential breakout players in 2007. Coming in at #4 is the Cubs' Rich Hill:

Chicago pushed Hill to 199 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the majors last season -- way beyond his pro high -- so a potential breakdown looms. But if Hill stays healthy and gets a regular turn in the crowded Chicago rotation, he has the stuff to win 15 games. Believe it not, the Cubs, who are considering Neil Cotts as a starter, have eight starting pitchers 30 years old and younger: Sean Marshall, 24, Carlos Zambrano, 25, Hill, Cotts, 26, Mark Prior, 26, Jason Marquis, 28, Ted Lilly, 30, and Wade Miller, 30.

Over the final two months of the 2006 season, Hill had a 2.58 ERA in 76.2 innings, with 78 K's and 21 BB's, finally showing the promise he displayed in his minor league career. His most successful stretch was from August 26 through September 16, when he allowed just 4 earned runs in 37 innings. His September 16 complete game shutout of the Cincinnati Reds prevented the Cubs from becoming the first team in major league history to not have a starting pitcher throw a complete game the entire season.