Andy G.
12-24-2009, 12:53 PM
I've been working on this for a few days. It's incredibly time consuming to put the stats in there like that. There might be a quicker way I don't know about. If anybody has a trick for that, please share. :)
Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito have definite injury concerns. If one or both of them miss a significant amount of time or are ineffective next year, we could be in trouble. However, I feel he best thing about our bullpen is it's depth. The five pitchers that are sure to have a spot in the pen are Wagner, Saito, Peter Moylan, Eric O'Flaherty, and Kris Medlen. We know the first three are really good. O'Flaherty showed his skills as a LOOGY last year, and Medlen had an outstanding second half coming out of the bullpen. We have an impressive group of youngsters competing for the final two spots: Luis Valdez, Jesse Chavez, Mike Dunn, Lee Hyde, Craig Kimbrel and Cory Gearrin. Isn't it nice that Manny Acosta isn't on that list? I'll give a short summary of what each pitcher brings to the table along with some recent stats.
Everyone is encouraged to share any opinions on who is most deserving of a spot in the bullpen, or who is most likely to win those final two positions. The number next to the names is the age that the player will be during the 2010 season. If there's anybody you feel I've left off, bring that to our attention as well.
Luis Valdez - 26
Valdez began his career as a starter in the Pirates organization. In 2007, one season after being converted to a reliever, the Braves signed him as a minor league free agent. He has since developed nicely, and is now considered to be a possible late inning reliever down the road. His fastball is around 93 or 94mph. He has a slider and a changeup that both clock in in the mid 80s.
ERA G SV IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2008 AA 2.76 55 28 65.1 6.6 0.4 5.0 10.6 1.29
2009 AAA 3.28 58 27 71.1 8.3 0.5 2.4 9.5 1.19
Jesse Chavez - 26
Chavez also spent time with the Pirates. In fact, he made 73 appearances for them last year in his rookie season. His stock began to rise back in '08, when he had a breakthrough season for the Pirates' AAA team. The Rays, then the Braves, liked him enough to trade for him this offseason. He throws his fastball at 94mph. His changeup, which he uses, comes in around 84mph and his slider is in the 88mph range.
ERA G SV IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2008 AAA 3.80 51 14 68.2 7.6 1.0 2.9 9.2 1.17
2009 MLB 4.01 73 0 67.1 9.2 1.5 2.9 6.3 1.35
Mike Dunn - 25
Mike Dunn, a lefty, just came to us in the Vazquez trade. You'll notice a trend with these relievers. They throw hard and they strike guys out. Dunn's fastball tops out at 97mph and his slider is in the 90s as well. He was a starter until he began transitioning to the bullpen in '08. The only problem with Dunn is his control, which is pretty bad. If he can shrink the number of walks he gives up, he could be a very good reliever.
ERA G IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2009 AA 3.71 26 53.1 6.9 0.5 5.4 12.8 1.37
AAA 2.25 12 20.0 7.7 0.5 6.3 10.4 1.55
Lee Hyde - 25
Hyde, another lefty, has not been able to stay healthy since being drafted in the fourth round out of Georgia Tech in '06. Hyde's fastball clocks in at 94mph, and he throws a knuckle curve that is said to be pretty nasty. After throwing a total of 10 innings in '08, he pitched at three levels last year and totaled 35.2 innings(3 of them were at rookie ball). He followed that up with an excellent showing in the Arizona Fall League.
ERA G IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2009 A+ 1.21 17 22.1 5.2 0.0 3.6 11.3 0.99
AA 4.35 7 10.1 7.8 0.9 3.5 11.3 1.26
AFL 3.00 13 12.0 5.2 0.8 5.3 9.8 1.17
Craig Kimbrel - 22
Kimbrel has gotten a lot of hype since being drafted in the third round of the '08 draft. Similar to Mike Dunn, he's got excellent stuff but cannot control it. He's supposed to be a closer in the near future. The Braves are just waiting for his control issues to be solved. He struggled in his first full professional season, but he's got great upside. His fastball comes in at 94mph with a lot of tailing and sinking action, and his slider is in the mid 80s.
ERA G SV IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2009 A 0.90 16 10 20.0 4.1 0.0 2.7 17.1 0.75
A+ 5.47 19 2 26.1 6.2 0.7 9.6 15.4 1.75
AA 0.77 12 6 11.2 2.3 0.0 5.4 13.1 0.86
AFL 10.45 11 0 10.1 6.2 0.9 14.3 16.0 2.23
Cory Gearrin - 25
Cory Gearrin is rising at a pretty rapid pace. He was drafted in the fourth round of the '07 draft. He has a sidearm delivery and throws his fastball in the low 90s. Baseball America ranked his slider as the best slider in the Braves' system. His sidearm delivery gets him a lot of sink on his fastball. Much like Peter Moylan, he gets a lot of groundballs and it is hard for hitters to lift the ball out of the park against him. He struggled with command issues in '08, but got rid of that in an extremely impressive '09 season.
ERA G SV IP H/0 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2008 A 2.82 19 1 22.1 7.7 0.4 6.0 14.5 1.52
A+ 5.32 17 0 23.2 7.2 0.8 8.0 13.7 1.69
2009 A+ 1.84 27 17 29.1 6.8 0.6 0.9 9.8 0.85
AA 2.84 20 2 25.1 6.8 0.7 2.8 7.1 1.07
I know that Hyde, Kimbrel and Gearrin have not pitched at the AAA level yet(at least not more than a few innings), but remember that our bullpen is going to change throughout the season. Injuries and ineffectiveness usually allow some guys who start the year in the minors to get onto the major league team. If Hyde, Kimbrel or Gearrin are lighting it up in AAA, either one of them could be in Atlanta at some point in 2010.
I think Valdez and Chavez have to be the front runners to get the final two spots. I think they'll do that, and we'll have a very good bullpen. One thing I'm not sure of, though, is if the Braves want somebody other than Kris Medlen to be able to take the role of long reliever. I think he's too good of a pitcher to only pitch in blow outs or when a starter leaves the game early. I hope he gets the chance to develop as a one inning guy, IF that's what the Braves intend to use him as in the future.
Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito have definite injury concerns. If one or both of them miss a significant amount of time or are ineffective next year, we could be in trouble. However, I feel he best thing about our bullpen is it's depth. The five pitchers that are sure to have a spot in the pen are Wagner, Saito, Peter Moylan, Eric O'Flaherty, and Kris Medlen. We know the first three are really good. O'Flaherty showed his skills as a LOOGY last year, and Medlen had an outstanding second half coming out of the bullpen. We have an impressive group of youngsters competing for the final two spots: Luis Valdez, Jesse Chavez, Mike Dunn, Lee Hyde, Craig Kimbrel and Cory Gearrin. Isn't it nice that Manny Acosta isn't on that list? I'll give a short summary of what each pitcher brings to the table along with some recent stats.
Everyone is encouraged to share any opinions on who is most deserving of a spot in the bullpen, or who is most likely to win those final two positions. The number next to the names is the age that the player will be during the 2010 season. If there's anybody you feel I've left off, bring that to our attention as well.
Luis Valdez - 26
Valdez began his career as a starter in the Pirates organization. In 2007, one season after being converted to a reliever, the Braves signed him as a minor league free agent. He has since developed nicely, and is now considered to be a possible late inning reliever down the road. His fastball is around 93 or 94mph. He has a slider and a changeup that both clock in in the mid 80s.
ERA G SV IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2008 AA 2.76 55 28 65.1 6.6 0.4 5.0 10.6 1.29
2009 AAA 3.28 58 27 71.1 8.3 0.5 2.4 9.5 1.19
Jesse Chavez - 26
Chavez also spent time with the Pirates. In fact, he made 73 appearances for them last year in his rookie season. His stock began to rise back in '08, when he had a breakthrough season for the Pirates' AAA team. The Rays, then the Braves, liked him enough to trade for him this offseason. He throws his fastball at 94mph. His changeup, which he uses, comes in around 84mph and his slider is in the 88mph range.
ERA G SV IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2008 AAA 3.80 51 14 68.2 7.6 1.0 2.9 9.2 1.17
2009 MLB 4.01 73 0 67.1 9.2 1.5 2.9 6.3 1.35
Mike Dunn - 25
Mike Dunn, a lefty, just came to us in the Vazquez trade. You'll notice a trend with these relievers. They throw hard and they strike guys out. Dunn's fastball tops out at 97mph and his slider is in the 90s as well. He was a starter until he began transitioning to the bullpen in '08. The only problem with Dunn is his control, which is pretty bad. If he can shrink the number of walks he gives up, he could be a very good reliever.
ERA G IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2009 AA 3.71 26 53.1 6.9 0.5 5.4 12.8 1.37
AAA 2.25 12 20.0 7.7 0.5 6.3 10.4 1.55
Lee Hyde - 25
Hyde, another lefty, has not been able to stay healthy since being drafted in the fourth round out of Georgia Tech in '06. Hyde's fastball clocks in at 94mph, and he throws a knuckle curve that is said to be pretty nasty. After throwing a total of 10 innings in '08, he pitched at three levels last year and totaled 35.2 innings(3 of them were at rookie ball). He followed that up with an excellent showing in the Arizona Fall League.
ERA G IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2009 A+ 1.21 17 22.1 5.2 0.0 3.6 11.3 0.99
AA 4.35 7 10.1 7.8 0.9 3.5 11.3 1.26
AFL 3.00 13 12.0 5.2 0.8 5.3 9.8 1.17
Craig Kimbrel - 22
Kimbrel has gotten a lot of hype since being drafted in the third round of the '08 draft. Similar to Mike Dunn, he's got excellent stuff but cannot control it. He's supposed to be a closer in the near future. The Braves are just waiting for his control issues to be solved. He struggled in his first full professional season, but he's got great upside. His fastball comes in at 94mph with a lot of tailing and sinking action, and his slider is in the mid 80s.
ERA G SV IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2009 A 0.90 16 10 20.0 4.1 0.0 2.7 17.1 0.75
A+ 5.47 19 2 26.1 6.2 0.7 9.6 15.4 1.75
AA 0.77 12 6 11.2 2.3 0.0 5.4 13.1 0.86
AFL 10.45 11 0 10.1 6.2 0.9 14.3 16.0 2.23
Cory Gearrin - 25
Cory Gearrin is rising at a pretty rapid pace. He was drafted in the fourth round of the '07 draft. He has a sidearm delivery and throws his fastball in the low 90s. Baseball America ranked his slider as the best slider in the Braves' system. His sidearm delivery gets him a lot of sink on his fastball. Much like Peter Moylan, he gets a lot of groundballs and it is hard for hitters to lift the ball out of the park against him. He struggled with command issues in '08, but got rid of that in an extremely impressive '09 season.
ERA G SV IP H/0 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
2008 A 2.82 19 1 22.1 7.7 0.4 6.0 14.5 1.52
A+ 5.32 17 0 23.2 7.2 0.8 8.0 13.7 1.69
2009 A+ 1.84 27 17 29.1 6.8 0.6 0.9 9.8 0.85
AA 2.84 20 2 25.1 6.8 0.7 2.8 7.1 1.07
I know that Hyde, Kimbrel and Gearrin have not pitched at the AAA level yet(at least not more than a few innings), but remember that our bullpen is going to change throughout the season. Injuries and ineffectiveness usually allow some guys who start the year in the minors to get onto the major league team. If Hyde, Kimbrel or Gearrin are lighting it up in AAA, either one of them could be in Atlanta at some point in 2010.
I think Valdez and Chavez have to be the front runners to get the final two spots. I think they'll do that, and we'll have a very good bullpen. One thing I'm not sure of, though, is if the Braves want somebody other than Kris Medlen to be able to take the role of long reliever. I think he's too good of a pitcher to only pitch in blow outs or when a starter leaves the game early. I hope he gets the chance to develop as a one inning guy, IF that's what the Braves intend to use him as in the future.