1
.... don't know where the HBT study is on it, but James spent a fair amount of time discussing the summer-heat factor, even back in the 1980's (he protested, against the wind, that the Rangers *did* have a very good excuse for their annual pitching collapses).
It's not an absolute, the heat and the park, but it's an overarching negative IMHO.
..............
Holland definitely looks like a top young talent to me too champ. My guess is that they'll have to go to him by mid-summer. When the temp is 96 and the ball flying, it's not the greatest place for a soft landing...
But yeah. Texas has serious talent on the mound. And BaseballHQ credits them and Cleveland with having the best minors pitching talent in all of O.B.