Francisco Hernandez named Omaha closer.(49.6)

[niles08]

It was a battle throughout much of the spring between several in the Omaha pen as to who would be officially given the 9th inning duties. Some wondered if it might be a committee approach, which is usually only the case when one guy isn’t very good compared to the rest.

There were several in the running, but three guys stood out among the rest.

Renato Lacerda stood out simply because of his league leading saves number from last year while with Omaha. He recorded 36 saves (out of 42 opportunities) along with 7 wins and a 3.36 ERA. Lacerda is in the final year of his contract, which is 100% retained by Long Beach.

37 year old Augate Balun was also in consideration based on his fine performance over 48 innings with Omaha last season. He allowed just 2 home runs in those 48 innings, impressive when considering Omaha’s hitter friendly park.

The last guy to highlight is Francisco Hernandez, who had a 0.93 ERA with Omaha last season in just 9 innings. Hernandez was acquired from Phoenix in the Dick Walton trade late in the season, so had limited opportunities. He did have a 2.34 ERA with Phoenix over 65 innings before his move to Omaha.

The mystery was gone today when the club released its projected roster and listed Hernandez as the club's closer, with Balun and Lacerda in “setup” roles. Hernandez, who is 23 years old will be the teams younger official closer since Jose Canales, who was named the closer at age 22 and went on to record the most career saves(358) in franchise history.