2036-15: Talons Season Preview: The Bullpen

[jiminyhopkins]

The bullpen was a strength last season, especially in the first half.

LR Ernest Shaffer (9/5/7 Talents)
With injuries forcing Martin Pacheco to the rotation, Shaffer is saved from the waiver wire. He throws a lot of pitches and actually had a good spring, but the Talons need him to pitch more like 2034 (2.66 ERA) than 2035 (4.52). There are a lot of Quad-A types in Ashland if he falters, so the pressure is on.

MR Adrian Garcia (10/6/8 Talents)
Garcia was demoted from setup man late last season due to an unlucky second half. He still has the talent to pitch anywhere in the pen, but the club would rather stick him in a lower leverage role so he can get his groove back. He has finished in the top ten in holds each of the last two seasons.

MR Rob Snyder (9/5/7 Talents)
Snyder, the last two seasons, had began as a reliever but found himself in the rotation, and quite a good job he has done there as well, averaging over 2 WAR per season. Not willing to mess with a good thing, Phoenix has him assigned to middle relief on Opening Day, knowing that Snyder can be a effective starter if needed. In the pen, he is valuable as a right handed pitcher who actually has slightly better ratings against left handed batters.

LSpec Germao Real (10/5/6 Talents)
Germao is one of the longest tenured pitchers on the team, and for the last three seasons has been a quality left handed specialist, averaging about 1.0 WAR per season in that role. He's still one of the hardest throwing left handers in the BBA.

RSpec Bailey Attoehow (10/5/9 Talents)
The Talons liked what Bailey was able to do for them last season when he was healthy, and have brought him back in a rather unique role, that of a right handed specialist. Pair him up with Real, and the Talons have two good weapons against the middle of opponents' lineups late in games.

SU Alexandre Renard (10/8/7 Talents)
The Talons are going in a different direction at the setup position. Renard was all set to play a big role in 2035 before an injury wiped out most of his season. He returned to pitch in the playoffs and performed well in 4 games, then had three more scoreless appearances for France in the "World Cup". Hopefully his talent can finally show through in this high leverage role.

CL Timofei Bakitski (11/7/8 Talents)
Is VODAK on the rocks? A rough 2035 saw Bakitski lose 8 games and compile his worst season since 2032, even though he had a career high 40 saves. His FIP was a run and a half lower than his ERA, however, so perhaps luck has something to do with it. But elite closers shouldn't rely on luck. Bakitski needs to return to his former elite, 2-3 WAR closer status to ensure Phoenix makes it back to the playoffs.

[RonCo]

That's a solid bullpen.