Someone asked me over on twitter what kind of grade I would give Cole Hamels after the lefty's first spring training game. The suggested grades were "B" or "B-" probably from just glancing at the box score.

But you really had to look beyond the boxscore to grade Hamels' Friday afternoon in Dunedin. Like at the radar gun... and at the variety of pitches coming out of his hand.

Hamels was regularly hitting 89 miles per hour on the radar gun with his fastball; last April, in his first start of the regular season, he was hovering between 86 and 87.

Hamels has basically been two-pitch pitcher since breaking in to the big leagues in 2006. Against the Jays Friday, he threw four pitches (a cutter and curve to go along with the fastball-change duo) and he had success with the new repertoire.

So how would I grade Hamels? I'd give him a solid "A."

Sure he served up a solo home run to the first batter of the game, but spring training isn't about results as much as it is about preparation. Hamels has obviously put in the work in the offseason, evident in the arm strength he showed Friday.

And now, with adding two pitches, he's putting in the proper time and preparation a whole month before the regular season begins.

Here's Hamels on Hamels:

On how arm strength has helped work on new pitches: "Having a fastball that I can throw at the same velocity I have during the season and having the changeup I can always go to, it allows me to focus on the curve and the cutter. And that’s something where if you don’t have the arm strength, you can’t do that. That’s when you leave yourself susceptible to injuries. That’s where I can really work on it and not be scared to throw it because I might tweak something or injure myself."

On learning from previous offseason, when he was not as prepared coming into camp:
"It’s April for me (now with arm strength). I think this is going to allow me to get more games in, prepare a lot better and seeing where I can go. Most guys come in (ready); I never have, which is probably not responsible on my part, but I’ve been able to get away with it. After last year, not being able to get away with it, I don’t ever want that to happen, especially with the type of team that we have. We need to win from Day one and put ourselves in a big lead because the division is so tough."

On whether the cutter, which he threw six times out of 32 pitches, can become his third pitch: "Most definitely. I’ve watched guys like Andy Pettite, Cliff Lee and (Jonathan) Lester have so much success with that pitch that I think it’s something if I’m able to add that in with the changeup that I have, then it can only make me that much better."