What a Relief

They just don't make relievers worth a damn anymore. But don't tell brett that, I wouldn't want to ruin his latest column. :-)

Kansas City Royals

Team Analysis Part II

Relief Pitching

Relief pitching is just as important as starting pitching on any successful team. A teams starting pitchers can only do so much, hopefully 7-8 innings and 3 runs, before the time comes to hand the ball over to the bullpen. Going into the `06 season, the bullpen was considered the strength the Royals. We had several young pitchers with power arms (throws the ball hard…) They had a ton of talent, but lacked in the experience department. Last year the Royals bullpen blew 31 saves. That’s 31 games we should have won. Granted every team blows saves, but 31 is ridiculous. That’s the 5^th highest total in MLB history. GM Dayton Moore realized this when he took over the team and has since made moves to strengthen the bullpen and hopefully convert those blown saves into wins.

The Royals are expected to carry 7 relief pitchers and 5 are virtual locks to start the season in the bullpen and we’ll start with them…

John Bale

Bale is a left handed reliever that the Royals signed from Japan this off-season. Bale is one of only two lefties in the pen and should see action most days. He will primarily be the setup man seeing action in the 7^th and 8^th innings. He has a high strikeout rate, but struggles with his command.

Octavio Dotel

Dotel is a right handed that signed as a free agent this off-season to be the Royals closer. He has had major injury problems the last 3 years, but the Royals believe that he is back to full strength. When healthy, Dotel is as good a closer as any in the majors. His best performances came in `04 when he was with the Astros and A’s. He notched 36 saves that year in 42 opportunities. He is a strikeout pitcher, but struggles with command at times.

Jimmy Gobble

Gobble is the other left hander that will be coming out of the pen for the Royals. Last year the lefty led the Royals in strikeouts and has seemed to finally found a home in the Royals bullpen. He is a former starter for the Royals, but was moved to the bullpen because of inconsistencies. Expect to see him in longer relief roles and for a short stint against a left handed batter.

David Riske

The Royals signed Riske this off-season as a free agent. Riske is a right-handed pitcher that is expected to be the setup man for the Royals in the late innings. He spent last season with the Red Sox before being traded to the White Sox. Riske is a better option to have in the back of the bullpen then the Royals have had in previous years. He has been in the majors since `99 and that is his best attribute, experience.

Todd Wellemeyer

Wellemeyer is a right handed pitcher the Royals signed as a free agent last off-season. In previous big league campaigns he pitched for the Marlins and the Cubs. Currently, Wellemeyer is the long reliever, pitching 3 or more innings, reliever out the Royals bullpen. Last season Wellemeyer had the lowest ERA, 3.63, on the team, but still surrenders too many walks, 50 last season. Wellemeyer is also considered a long shot to make the starting rotation out of spring training.

Now the 5 pitchers fighting for the final 2 spots.

Ryan Braun

Braun made his major league debut last season to the tune of 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. Not good, right? He is a power fastball pitcher, 95-100mph and also throws a nasty slider. He was the featured closer for the Omaha Royals before he made his way to the majors. He is a righty, which doesn’t help him earn a spot in the majors. If he wants to make the team, he’ll need a dominating spring, but I believe he will start the season in AAA.

Joe Nelson

Nelson could be the odd man out this spring. He pitched very well for the Royals last season filling in as the closer for the last half of the season registering 9 saves. He is a right-hander with very average stuff. He is an effective set-up man, but might lose his spot to a younger pitcher. Nelson would be a good reliever out of the pen, but brings up the question do you want smarts or stuff?

Joel Peralta

Peralta was signed in the off-season off of waivers from the Angels. Prior to Dayton Moore’s bullpen revival movement Peralta was considered a lock for the Royals bullpen. Peralta has good control and averages 10 K/9 or 10 every 9 innings. One area of improvement Peralta must make in against left handed batters. He dominated righties, but struggled mightily against lefties. As much as I like Peralta I believe he will be sent to AAA, but we will see him again in the majors.

Ken Ray

The Royals signed Ray this off-season after being release by the Braves. Dayton Moore knows Ray well and signed him with the belief that he can and will help solidify the bullpen. Oddly enough the Royals drafted Ray back in 1993 and has been with several organizations since then before pitching in the majors again last season for the Braves. He is a righty and is familiar with Dayton Moore so he might have the inside track for one of the last bullpen spots

Joakim Soria

The perfect game kid. Right after being selected by the Royals in the Rule V draft, Soria threw a perfect game in the Mexican League. He is just 22 years old and is supposed to have excellent stuff. As a stipulation of the Rule V draft, Soria must stay on the big league club all season or be offered back to the Padres for cash. With Dayton Moore’s desire to have as much young pitching prospects as possible, I don’t see that happening. So consider Soria a lock for the bullpen this year and then sent to the minors next season to be converted into a starter.

That’s the bullpen. As bad as it was last year, it can’t get much worse. The way I see it, if we solidify the bullpen we can hopefully squeeze 10 more wins out and that makes us a non-100 loss team which is a great step. A lot of this rides on the starters going deep into ball games and not having the bullpen exhausted by mid-June. Keep your fingers crossed.

Next article we will discuss the Royals infield.

Royals Fact: Dan Quisenberry and Jeff Montgomery are tied for the most saves in a season for the Royals with 45. Quis was in `83 and Monty’s was in `93.

-b

“Royals Baseball is on the Air.”