The San Francisco Giants own one of baseball’s best pitching rotations. This rotation is not led by 2002 Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito and his $19 million salary. He is only 8-6 with a 3.75 ERA.

This rotation is not led by 2008 and 2009 NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and his $18.3 million salary. The Freak is mired in a season from hell with a 4-11record and 5.88 ERA. At least his 129 strikeouts lead the team.

This rotation is not led by pitching prodigy Madison Bumgarner. The 10th pick of the 2007 MLB Draft does lead the team in wins with 11 but his ERA is a pedestrian 3.10. The lefty leaves so much to be desired.

This rotation is not led by the man with the National League’s lowest WHIP (0.95). Sure, Matt Cain’s ERA is only 2.74 and the Giants are paying him $16.2 million this season, but he does not lead this staff.

The San Francisco Giants staff is led by a man who owned a 6.50 ERA over 133 innings in 2004. As a 28-year-old he spent most of the year in AAA. In the 38 big league innings he pitched that season he had a 6.39 ERA.

Ryan Vogelsong left the country following that season. He reappeared in Japan, pitching for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. Vogelsong spent three seasons in the league. He went 11-14 and never posted an ERA below 3.99. He returned to the States in 2010 in the Philadelphia and then the Anaheim farm systems.

Vogelsong’s stuff didn’t seem any different. He went 3-8 in AAA with a 4.81 ERA. The Angels let him go. San Francisco picked him up for a minor league deal. He made two starts for San Fran’s AAA affiliate in 2011. He allowed two earned runs and struck out 17 batters. He was called up April 17, 2011 and made his first start April 28.

Vogelsong went on to go 13-7 in 2011. He posted a 2.71 ERA, a number he had never boasted at any level in his career. His numbers this season prove it was no fluke. Vogelsong is 8-4 with a staff-best 2.26 ERA. He is stranding an MLB-best 85.2 percent of the runners he allows. Opponents are batting .213 against him and his $3 million cost is chump change compared to the rest of his rotation mates.

In August 2011, Vogelsong credited his time with Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan winter league as the turning point in his career. Not a lot of All-Stars pitch in the Venezuelan winter league. Vogelsong validated his self-actualization when Bruce Bochy named him to the 2011 NL All-Star team. Despite Vogelsong’s impressive numbers (not to mention his journey to baseball success), he was left off the 2012 All-Star team.

Vogelsong does not carry the flashy story of instant success. He struggled. He struggled at an age athletes consider their prime. Maybe Vogelsong is a late bloomer. Maybe he just wants it more.

The Big Guy