Just Who Is P.J. Walters?

According to the Post Dispatch, P.J. Walters will start for the Cardinals on Friday at Wrigley. Not a lot of detail there, but here is what we know from the article about Mr. Walters:

Walters was impressive in his first start for Memphis. He pitched seven shutout innings and struck out six against two walks. The righthander has a plus changeup that, early in his professional career, was actually described by scouts as a “screwball.” Walters rejects that description, and he has more velocity on his fastball that expected from a starter who steadily climbed the system with his changeup.

That's all good, I guess. In 2007 Walters was the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Surprising I have never heard of him (that I can recall). Here are Walters' stats since joining the organization. Good, but he was hardly spectacular in 2008. He was, however, impressive this Spring, where he became the last non-roster pitching invitee to be cut from big league camp. Even more significantly, Walters is being given this honor over other legitimate major league prospects Jess Todd, Blake Hawksworth, and Clayton Mortenson, not to mention Mitchell Boggs who also got a call-up.

All things considered, I don't know what to expect from this kid. Keep your fingers crossed.