Moonshiners Monitor, Vol. 1.14: 1997 Bullpen Preview

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lchronister
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Moonshiners Monitor, Vol. 1.14: 1997 Bullpen Preview

Post by lchronister » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:36 pm

Middle Reliever
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Hank Davidson
1996 stats: 8-4, 2.87 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 100 K, 42 BB, 84.2 IP in 73 games; 24.3 VORP, 153 ERA+
The team's top relief performer last year, Davidson would rather be a starter, but the hard thrower is back in the bullpen this year. He's a bit homer-prone, but he strikes out more than a batter an inning and doesn't walk many, helping cut down on the damage those long balls can cause. He's easily capable of going more than an inning an appearance and is a nice insurance policy in case something happens to one of the team's starters.

Middle Relief/Setup
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Kenneth Logan
1996 stats: 11-16, 5.42 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 130 K, 51 BB, 192.2 IP in 33 starts; 3.6 VORP, 81 ERA+
Logan's time in the rotation comes to an end this year after last year's awful performance. Greenville hopes the move to the bullpen (which, unlike Davidson, Logan's completely happy with) will help his pitches look even harder to hit. He did well in Spring Training (1.29 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 6-to-1 K/BB ratio in 28 innings) and should provide an immediate improvement over last year's bullpen.

Middle Relief/Setup
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Georgio Gonzalez
1996 stats: 2-3, 5.58 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 71 K, 35 BB, 61.1 IP in 17 games (9 starts); 0.2 VORP, 79 ERA+
Gonzalez makes the bullpen almost strictly because he's the team's only lefty of any discernible talent. Now, that said, he's something of a strikeout machine and could be a very useful LOOGY. He improved upon his 1995 numbers last year after starting only half his appearances, so it's possible the move to full-time reliever could help him get that ERA under (or at least near) 5.00 this season.

Setup
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George Fagg
1996 stats: 8-11, 5.09 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 85 K, 77 BB, 187.1 IP in 29 starts; 10.0 VORP, 86 ERA+
A failed experiment in the rotation last year, Fagg returns to the bullpen, where he was at least tolerable in 1995 (4-5, 32 saves, 4.04 ERA). He wants to be a closer, though there's no chance of that happening after last year. Maybe if he grows into his full potential (he's 10/17/12 on 7/9/6 talents), but at 28 it's looking less and less likely that will happen.

Closer
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Garlands P. Gumpdrop
1996 stats: 3-8, 38 saves, 5.14 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 74 K, 38 BB, 68.1 IP in 68 games; 3.3 VORP, 85 ERA+
Not exactly the numbers (or ratings -- 16/14/13) you're looking for in a closer, but he appears to be the team's best option at this point. It's not often you see someone make the move to closer and actually perform worse than he did as a starter (10-9, 4.76 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 160 K, 79 BB, 191 IP in 33 starts in 1995). A repeat of last year's struggles is about the only thing that might get Fagg at shot at the closer's job.

Mop-Up
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Mike McGrevey
1996 stats: 6-11, 5.58 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 68 K, 34 BB, 138.2 IP in 31 games (23 starts); 20.6 VORP, 3 complete games
A (probably unnecessary) offseason signing, McGrevey gives the team another reliever who can pitch multiple innings if necessary. Most of his work will come when the game has been decided, but if he can come closer to putting up the numbers he did with Birmingham last year (4-6, 4.52 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 7.3 VORP, 92 ERA+) than the ones he did with Des Moines (2-5, 6.72 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, -10.9 VORP, 62 ERA+), he'll be worth every penny.

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