Is Jeff Niemann poised for another solid year?

It is probably safe to assume that no baseball fan–specifically, no Tampa Bay Rays fan–would have expected Jeff Niemann to win 13 games last year and have the lowest ERA of all Tampa Bay Rays starting pitchers. Yet, he did.

So that leaves me to question–can he do it again?

Niemann flies quietly under the radar–not an easy task for a 6’9″ dude. All we hear about in regards to the Rays starts is how great James Shields is in big games, and how he was named the starter for the third straight season opener.

Or how when Matt Garza finally finds some consistency, he is going to be a perennial Cy Young contender. Same can be said for wunderkind David Price. Hell, even rookie Wade Davis has gotten more hype than Niemann this spring, with several experts stating that Davis has the kind of stuff that could make him the Rays staff ace in the next few years.

With all this flying around, no one has talked about Niemann.

But there is one sports writer who thinks Niemann could be stellar this year.

Brad Evans, a fantasy baseball expert for Yahoo thinks that Niemann could be a “future nightmare for AL hitters”.

Niemann’s peer’s have noticed his dominance also.

“I was talking to Johnny Damon in the box, and he’s like, ‘Geez, this guy’s not giving us any chance,’ ” said Rays catcher John Jaso.

Helping his cause, manager Joe Maddon loves his stuff too.

“That’s something I’ve always liked about him, the curve is a pitch he can throw for strikes,” said Maddon. “So when he gets behind in the count, a lot of times pitchers can’t go to that pitch because they can’t throw it for a strike. But he can, and that’s what makes him really interesting.”

Until reading this piece by Evans, I had never really given much thought to Niemann either. I never was nervous when he was on the mound, and I guess it is easy to look past solid performances when their is no incredibly outgoing personality tied to the guy posting the performances. Niemann does not go out of his way to get noticed–he is blue collar. He goes, and does his job on the mound, and success follows.