Trail Droppings 2042-9 Calgary's Bullpen Decisions

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Trail Droppings 2042-9 Calgary's Bullpen Decisions

Post by indiansfan » Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:34 pm

Calgary’s Bullpen Decisions

The Pioneers invited 13 relievers to camp this year, in addition to the 5 players getting a shot at the #5 spot in the rotation. Some are locks, some are definitely going back to the minors, but several will be on the bubble. Assuming the team keeps 2 of the guys competing in the starter competition, there will be at most 7 spots in the bullpen if the team opens with 13 starters. If they open with 12, which is more likely, then there are only 6 spots and most are already spoken for.

Locks - These four are guaranteed a spot in the bullpen.

Joel Ottoboni - Last year’s Egan winner and the 2040 runner up will be closing games for the Pioneers. He has 83 saves the past 2 seasons, a career ERA of 2.07 and a WHIP of .88. His BB/K ratio last season was 13.40. Ottoboni signed a $3.5 mil extension for next season already avoiding arbitration.

Fernando Rangel - A late season call up last year, Rangel is ready to assume a full time job in the bullpen. With a blazing fastball and a killer sinker, he should give opposing batters fits.

Yoshitoshi Ota - The old man of the bullpen at 27, Ota might be in his last year with the Pioneers. A free agent after this year, it is doubtful the team will give him the $5 million extension he is asking for.

Claude Michaud - Coming off his best season, the team hopes he will continue to work on his control. Fortunately he strikes out enough batters with his 100 mph fastball to compensate.

Lefties - The team will probably keep 2, one a lefty killer and the other a general lefty in the pen.

Marcos Serrano - A Rule 5 pickup last year, he absolutely dominated left handed hitters last season. His 1.50 ERA, 1.06 WHP and a K per inning make the lefty specialist job his to lose.

Jaime Torres - Invited to camp, but probably destined for AAA, Torres is Serrano’s competition in camp. If Serrano falters, Torres could sneak in to the bullpen.

Vaclac Vroonland - After his performance the last 2 seasons, Vroonland should be a lock. He is 7-2-2 with a 3.48 ERA. The only reason he isn’t a lock is the next guy.

Dwight Owens - Owens shouldn’t be in the conversation. He split last season between A ball and AA and dominated at both. He will probably end up in AAA this season with Vroonland sticking in Calgary, but rumor has it that he came into camp ready to compete for a spot on the team.

Manuel Garza - With a 101mph fastball, Garza will get his 3rd chance to make it in Calgary. He was a September call up the last 2 seasons and should be ready for full time BBA work. However, he still hasn’t gotten a handle on his slider so it could be back to AAA 1 more time.

The Rest - If the team can find a spot, one of these guys could pitch his way onto the team. Three of them can go back to AAA, one is a Rule 5 use him or lose him guy.

Ismael Guzman - A big part of the Lynch deal, Guzman pitched in 18 games last season at AAA and ended up with a 1.71 ERA and .85 WHIP. The problem is that right now he is a 1 pitch guy with a great cutter. He will need to develop his change and even maybe his knuckler before he can stick in the bigs.

Patrick Whitlock - The team has taken it’s time with Whitlock as he has progressed through every level of the system on schedule. This should be his AAA year and probably will be, but it all depends on his camp. The team has high hopes for this control freak.

Geoffrey Tran - The Pioneers picked up the 30 year old this off season when he agreed to a minor league deal. He isn’t the ideal Calgary type pitcher, but was signed as a depth piece. The training camp invite was part of the deal the team made with him, but he will be injury insurance at AAA.

Jorge Alonzo - Finally we come to Mr. Rule 5 on his 3rd stop in Calgary. Given his 2nd stop he never even got on the plane before being traded again, but the team does love to keep Rule 5 guys. An impressive Spring could land him on the team if he can prove that his strikeouts outweigh his walks.
Kevin

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Calgary Pioneers 2004-
BBA Landis Champs 2018, 21
FL Champs 2018, 21, 39
FL Pacific Champs: 2016, 19, 21, 34
FL Frontier Champs 2039
FL WC 2018, 26-29, 31-32, 35
JL WC 2040, 41, 44
FL MOY 2019, 34
JL MOY 2044

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