Acquired 7/5/1999 in a trade with Ripken's Hott Shots for Ruben Rivera.

Let's get the obvious downside out of the way first. Yes, pitchers are never a sure thing, Pavano is only 23, he was inconsistent in his rookie season, he was inconsistent and injury-prone in 1999, and he pitches for a mediocre team that is unlikely to bail him out of a shaky start with a timely 10-run outburst.

Now consider the fact that he struck out everybody in the minors and his occasional flashes of brilliance have already proven sufficient to make big-leaguer hitters look bad at times. And don't forget the Pedro Martinez factor - once a pitcher establishes his dominance, Montreal will trade him to a winning team.