Hello BGeeks,It seems life and laziness has pushed back the unveiling of the Tiger’s Relief Pitching analysis. The goal is to wet the appetites to a frenzied state. Without further delay here it is.
When analyzing the bullpen it all starts at the back end with the closer. Last year the Tigers attempted to fill this void through free agency by signing an older closer that had previous success. That worked so well they decided to try the same thing again this year. No matter how much it defies logic I like the move this off-season to bring Todd Jones back into the fold. For one he does not have the history of arm troubles Percival brought with him and he can relatively cheap considering the cash the Blue Jays threw at B.J. Ryan. Jones will be solid, but not spectacular. He will blow the occasional save opportunity and make things interesting a few times. Expect his numbers to be down a bit from last year, but 30 or more saves is not out of the question. Jones fills the gap nicely for the next couple years while the Tiger’s groom their closer of the future…Joel Zumaya, the 21 year old fireballer that topples 100 on the radar gun. Currently Zumaya is in competition with Verlander for the 5th starters’ role, but both Zumaya and the Tiger’s brass view this guy as the stopper. Tiger’s fans should be treated of years of dominance at the end of games by the youngster in the future.
This is a good time for a moment to reflect on the great career of Troy Percival. Best wishes for a happy retirement Troy. Tiger’s fans will frequently think back and remember your great season in the D. How can anyone forget the magic of those 8 saves or the dominant 5.76 ERA? You had an amazing career. It is too bad injuries didn’t allow you to have success in a Tiger’s uniform.
The set-up role this year will fall to Fernando Rodney who ended the season last year as the closer ending up with 9 saves. While he has some good numbers with a 2.86 ERA and 42 Ks in 44 innings, Rodney had 15 save opportunities so he only cashed in on 60% of his chances to close out a game. Rodney received talk around the Tigers as a potential closer of the future. However, the club was not completely sold on his ability to handle the role at this point and brought in Jones for the job. The set-up role is a great fit for Rodney and he will continue to maintain a low ERA and should rack up a lot of holds. Rodney still holds potential as a closer in the future, but with Zumaya in the organization it probably won’t be with the Tigers.
That brings us to another guy who was a closer in the making in Franklyn German, who came to Detroit with Bonderman and Pena in the Weaver trade. German had great success as a closer in the minors, but has had his ups and downs in the majors. Franklyn struggled to find the plate and came into camp last year with the possibility of not making the club. German was out of options so he either made the Tiger’s team or would have been released last season. Thankfully for the Tigers he had a great spring and followed that up with a solid season. German was 4-0 with a 3.66 ERA with one save in three opportunities. He still struggled at times with his control as the 34 walks in 59 innings demonstrate and only struck out 38. While there is no longer the closer buzz around German he is an important piece out of the bullpen for the Tigers. He will be the situational righty and can get tough outs when needed. Expect German to improve on his numbers from last year, maybe not in record, but in lower his walks and increasing his strike outs. German’s ERA should remain in the mid-to-low 3s.
From the situational righty we move to look at the situational lefty, Jamie Walker. This is one of the stronger portions of the Tiger’s bullpen. Walker, know as the Bulldog, is a tough nosed guy who relishes the opportunity to get out the opposing teams left handed hitters in important situations. Heading into his fifth season with the Tigers Walker provides solid relief in spot situations. Walker’s ERA has been in the 3s each season in Detroit and will continue to be in the low 3s. He has allowed fewer home runs each season he has pitched and does not walk many hitters. While he doesn’t strike out a lot of hitter he doesn’t do much to hurt the team either.
The next spot in the pen belongs to Chris Spurling, who the Tigers picked up as a rule 5 pick in 2003. Spurling lost the 2004 season to injury, but returned to have a decent 2005 season. He is a 28 year old right hander with solid pitches. Spurling serves as the in-between guy. He can be a situational guy to get a right handed batter out or he can eat up an inning or two as needed. There were times last season where Chris fell victim to being left in ballgames too long when he didn’t have his best stuff. His ERA of 3.44 was solid in 56 appearances and 70.2 innings. He needs to work on his control as he issued a base-on-balls an average of every three innings pitched. Spurling will be solid through out the year and should have about the same numbers with hopefully a few less walks.
Those are the five spots in the Tiger’s bullpen that are relatively a sure bet. How the other two positions in the bullpen will shake out is another matter. At this point it can only be speculation. A glaring weakness for the pen is the lack of a second left-handed reliever. The possibility still exists for the Tigers to make a trade for a reliever before the start of the season. Another possibility is if Wilfredo Ledezma, who began last season as the fifth starter, figures things out and regains control of his pitches. He could be an in-house solution to the problem, but he has yet to demonstrate the consistency needed to pitch at the major league level and thus far has struggled in the spring. So at this point he is still a long shot.
A lot of how the pen shakes out depends on the battle for the #5 spot in the starting rotation. However, it can be assumed that Verlander will get the nod. This opens the possibility of moving Roman Colon, a 26 year old right hander to the bullpen. Colon was obtained from the Braves last year for Kyle Farnsworth. Colon has a strong arm and good stuff, but has struggled out of the bullpen throughout his career. Last season he was 2-6 with a 5.58 ERA. For whatever reason he has posted much better numbers when pitching as a starter. It would not be shocking if the Tiger’s dealt Maroth, who has been speculated as trade bait for the last three years, and give Colon a starting spot at some point in the season. Another option would be to move either Maroth or Robertson to the bullpen, solving the left handed reliever problem and move Colon into the rotation. However, I am just a lowly blogger and don’t have the pull to make any of that happen.
The Tiger’s official website has Roman Colon, Wil Ledezma and Jason Grilli as the three guys on the depth chart battling for the final two spots. I don’t know much about Grilli, who was born in Royal Oak, Michigan and previously pitched for the White Sox. Last year in Detroit Grilli was 1-1 with a 3.38 in 3 games in which two of those were starts. Other considerations are the development of Joel Zumaya. The closer of the future may pitch his way onto the big club this spring and earn a spot in the bullpen. Tiger’s fans would be thrilled with this development and being able to watch both Zumaya and Verlander pitch in the majors. Another interesting name to watch is Matt Mantei, who was a one-time closer that struggled with arm troubles for the last few seasons. This spring has been a struggle, but he could be a dark horse to make the pen.
The bullpen has been a weak area for the Tigers over the years. This year could be the same story as they search for a second left handed reliever and some consistency throughout. The biggest addition to the bullpen for the Detroit Tigers this season could be the manager Jim Leyland. Trammell did not appear to ever gain a good understanding of how to best utilize the strengths and weaknesses of the relief pitchers. He struggled in knowing when to make moves frequently leaving guys either out too long or not giving them a chance to work out of jams. Leyland has a track record of understanding his pitchers better. His handling of the pitching staff could provide the greatest addition to the Tiger’s pitching staff.
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Go Tigers!!!
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