Here is what Stearns and company inherited when they took over. Quick recap is…
Hits: Arcia (#1), Hader (#5), Grisham (#7), Williams (#10), Davies (#14), Houser (#15), Taylor (#19)
Woodruff was still just a recent 11th round pick who had posted 109 IP with a 5.8 K9 for Brevard County in his first full pro season.
Anything worthwhile in the cupboard upon arrival, Stearns and company recognized.
The other high ranked hitters they inherited (Phillips, Diaz, Harrison) or later acquired (Brinson) never amounted to much, but they were able to turn them into Moose and Yelich.
Developing players while installing whole new systems and overhauling personnel takes time. It takes a long time even once that stuff is all in place.
Stearns & company literally flipped the script on almost a half century of organizational pitching ineptitude in like two years.
It was an anomaly, unfathomable for decades until it actually finally happened.
Things on the hitting side might seem slow developing by comparison, but they’ve really been unfolding on more of a standard timeline with the first wave just starting to crest.