There have been some early surprises in 2007. Among them are Reds center fielder Josh Hamilton, Royals catching prospect John Buck and young hurlers Tom Gorzelanny, Rich Hill, Gil Meche and Marlins closer candidate Henry Owens.

Another fast starter is unheralded Dodgers left-hander Mark Hendrickson. Los Angeles has a host of talented options for its rotation, but the 6-foot-9 Hendrickson, who spent parts of four seasons in the NBA before focusing strictly on baseball, is working his way into the mix. He gets the opportunity because ace Jason Schmidt is out with a shoulder ailment, but the 32-year-old southpaw has made his case to start in three relief appearances and Thursday's outing in place of Schmidt at Coors Field.

Hendrickson allowed a single run in 5.2 innings against the Rockies, contributing to the Dodgers’ 8-1 win. He’s allowed just three runs in 16.2 innings of work this season, good for a 1.62 ERA. He’s given up nine hits and just two walks while fanning 13.

In 2006, a season split between Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, Hendrickson was 6-15 with a 4.21 ERA. He walked 62 in 164.2 innings, but he deserved a better fate. The wins weren’t there, but there were signs that a better 2007 is in the cards.

That 4.21 ERA was better than league average, and the wins might have come if Hendrickson hadn’t received the worst run support among all major league starters who pitched at least 162 innings in 2006. He received just 3.28 runs per nine innings pitched, substantially less than the next two guys on the list, Dontrelle Willis and Jason Jennings, who received 4.03 runs per nine.

Not only did Hendrickson receive the lowest run support average among starters by a wide margin, he also posted the biggest improvement in ERA among hurlers who worked at least 162 innings in both 2005 and ’06. He recorded a 5.90 mark with Tampa Bay in 2005 before improving by 1.69 runs to 4.21 in 25 starts and six relief appearances last season.

Hendrickson may not win a Cy Young Award any time soon, but the southpaw could be an effective pitcher who wins his share of games, a year after he was nine games under .500 at 6-15.