It's not often a rookie comes in and has the sort of impact Tim Lincecum did in year one and especially in his first full season last year. Often, we'll see the elite prospect come in and struggle initially before righting the ship the following year, or in Edwin Jackson's case, five years later. There's certainly no magic formula, but if a guy has talent and struggles initially, there's probably a better than average chance that if the work ethic is there, in a year or two, we'll start to see that talent turn into production. Dan Haren had a 5.08 ERA in 14 starts in his first taste of the big leagues in 2003. Two years later, Haren's one of baseball's best, and now he's a Cy Young contender. More famously, Roy Halladay was forced to go to Single-A ball in 2001 to rebuild his delivery. Two years later, Halladay's the AL Cy Young winner.
