Tater Talk: 2040.14 – Position Battles Royale: The Arms

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Tater Talk: 2040.14 – Position Battles Royale: The Arms

Post by jleddy » Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:22 pm

Image This is the final of two articles exploring all the open spots on the Boise Spuds' active roster heading into spring training. Last time we dove into the hitters and today, we take a closer look at the battles for the starting rotation and bullpen.

Last season's #2 starter, Pancho Germán, returns after a season that saw this ___-year-old get named to his first All-Star team and win the team's Most Valuable Pitcher award. With rubber-armed Egbert Behner gone via the expansion draft, Germán is now the de facto ace and will be expected to follow-up on his breakout campaign for a starting pitching-starved Boise team. General Manager Joe Lederer made a trade to acquire Celio Marin from Portland after the Lumberjacks drafted the eight-year veteran in the expansion draft. Lederer expects a return to high-level result from Marin, who will be the team's #2 starter. Francisco Barrera was signed in the off-season to a one-year deal and, after spending 2039 in the Atlantic City bullpen, is expected to return back to starting and fill the back-end of the Spuds' rotation.

The bullpen returns several key members, including Bill Pidduck, Dave Walsh, Marko Efremov, and Tom Warren, all who are expected to be locks in the Boise pen.

#4/#5 STARTER
The loss of both Behner and Maxence Mace to the expansion draft, as well as Ricardo Ortiz signing with Omaha means 88 starts from last season are gone. Aside from Germán, the pitcher with the most starts from 2039 is Walsh, who's experiment as a starter in 14 games was deemed a failure and will return back to the bullpen. Francisco Ruíz pitched only 31 innings last year, with three starts and nineteen appearances out of the pen but likely looks better suited in a one or two inning role. António Sánchez and Marcos Sánchez, no relation, combined for nine starts but Boise pitching coach Bob Blaisdell has already stated this off-season that neither player will make starts unless several injuries strike. A favorite to earn a spot at the back of the rotation is prospect Frank Metcalf, who spent last year between Double-A Buffalo and Triple-A Salt Lake City. The 21-year-old groundballer performed well in 2039, going 12-7 with an 3.36 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. His upside is low but for a team starved for reliable arms, Boise will hope the rookie can make the rotation out of spring. Veteran Robbie van Mierlo was signed to a one-year, $1.5M contract and after Lederer missed on several higher profile pitchers in free agency, the 26-year-old Aruban finds himself in the thick of the rotation battle. Manager Barrett Callahan has not dismissed using an opener strategy if a clear #4 and/or #5 are not named after the spring. Boise's depth with bullpen arms could make the relatively new pitching concept a possibility.

CLOSER
The closer role was rotated last season between Pidduck (14 saves), Felix Alvarado (12 saves), Warren (8 saves) and Timofei Bakitski (8 saves). Alvarado and Bakitski are no longer on the team, leaving Pidduck and Warren as favorites for the ninth inning. Warren's three-year minor league track record (8-7, 25 saves, 2.26 ERA, 1.03) still has the front office excited despite a disaster rookie season last year (1-4, 8 saves, 7.78 ERA, 1.73 WHIP). The Spuds could also call on another young reliever, 21-year-old Naomichi Harada, one of the more electric arms in the minors. In his last two seasons as the closer in Salt Lake City, Harada has totaled 66 saves with a sub-3.00 ERA. Harada, runner-up in the AAA Rupert League Reliever of the Year Award, is unlikely to spent a third season in Salt Lake City and will be expected to provide quality innings in some capacity, either as closer or a set-up man.
"My $#!? doesn't work in the playoffs." - Billy Beane Joe Lederer

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