Back towards the end of April, I wrote a blog about how our bullpen was a major weakness yet again. Well...not anymore. The bullpen is clearly the strongest unit on the team this season (so far). Here's a quick breakdown of four major reasons for the bullpen's success:
1. Joakim Soria - Our Rule 5 draft pick. When we picked up Soria, the move immediately made waves in the baseball community. Everyone was high on this guy and couldn't believe he was left unprotected. He promptly followed up his selection by pitching a no-hitter in the Mexican League. It looked like the Royals really found something in this guy. The question - could a Rule 5 guy step in as a starting pitcher, or have any kind of meaningful role on a big league team in his first season??? Yes. Soria came out of the bullpen when we had injuries to guys like Octavio Dotel and John Bale and eventually became our closer. He's looked great all year - and while he's given the closer's role back to Dotel - it may not be long before he takes it back.
2. David Riske - A free agent acquisition during the off-season. Riske is a very solid guy out of the pen and has experience as a closer. He initially took over the closer role when Dotel went on the DL, but got off to a horrible start, which led Buddy Bell to try Soria in the role. This allowed Riske to slide back into a setup role - where he has flourished pretty much all year. He's proven to be a great signing with his 35.1 innings pitched, 28 K's and 2.55 ERA (a team low). A guy who can go out pretty much every other day and get us out of almost any situation.
3. Jimmy Gobble - After being a starting pitching prospect for a few years, Gobble was moved into the pen in 2006 for what looks to be a permanent stay. He pitched well there last season and has continued to look good this year. A lefty with good stuff, he's appeared in more games than any other Royals pitcher this season - taking the mound in 38 games for a total of 26.1 innings. He seems to have finally come into his own in this role, which he's proven by posting a 2.73 ERA.
4. Zack Greinke - The "savior" of a franchise (at least he was before Alex Gordon took that title). Greinke was to be our next Bret Saberhagen....the next big thing as far as starting pitching goes. It was known all over the league - this kid had the stuff to dominate. Then...last year....it all blew up in his face. He had problems. Big ones. He left the team in Spring Training. Nobody knew what was going on...just Zack, his family, and the Royals - everyone else was in the dark. Zack came back, eventually, and was sent to AA Wichita to play in a winning atmosphere with the likes of Gordon, Billy Butler, Mitch Maier, Chris Lubanski, etc. He made his way back to KC in September...but nobody knew what to expect coming into 2007.
Well - he looked better than ever in spring, and came out of the gates in the regular season looking dominant, going pitch-for-pitch with Daisuke and having a couple more great starts after that. Then....the wheels started falling off again. Zack didn't like the pressure, couldn't stand the four day wait between starts.....so he went to the pen, and he never looked back. Now, with the prospect of playing almost every day, his head is in the game, and his stuff looks just plain nasty. He comes in one day, throws four innings. Two days later, maybe two innings. The next day, maybe one. He loves it - and it shows. Since going to the pen, he has dominated opponents and his ERA continues to drop (it was inflated from a couple of shaky starts). He's appeared in 24 games now (only 7 were starts) - and has thrown 61.2 innings. He's struck out 51 and walked only 18. He pushes himself more every time out (the other day his fastball hit 100 mph) and his stuff.....still just plain NASTY. I'm more proud of him than anyone on this team, after all he's gone through...I'm just glad he's here and he's able to keep doing what he loves.
Those are four big reasons our pen has dominated...and I've left out a handful of other good pitchers, but they're not forgotten - these guys are the pitchers who really jump out at me though. Every time they take the mound, I feel like I can relax. Let's just hope they can keep it up......actually, let's just hope we can find a couple more starting pitchers to get them some leads to protect!
3 comments:
So are Greinke and Soria going to stay in the pen, or are there any long-term plans to move them into the rotation?
It's kind of hanging out there...the fact that both have been starters up until this point. I know they'd love Greinke to turn out a starter since he was drafted so highly. I wouldn't mess with it, honestly. Soria seems to have icewater running through his veins - perfect for a closer....I'd slide him into that slot and keep Greinke as a lights out 7th/8th inning guy. Both are important roles on a winning team.
I could understand keeping Greinke in the reliever role if he couldn´t psychologically handle being a starter. But, in Soria´s case we have to eventually try him out as a starter. The guy seems to know how to pitch. If he could produce as a starter on nearly the same level as a reliever, he would sure up one of our two remaining starter spots. Remember, it is far harder to find a starter than a reliever. If you can, you want to fill the former from within. For this reason, I would even advocate moving Greinke to the starter role at some point.
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