The Building of a Bullpen
Posted May 22nd, 2007 by Stephanie Storm
The revolving door that has become the Aeros bullpen spun some more over the past week as the Aeros added right-hander T.J. Burton to the mix from Class-A Kinston.
Burton joins recent newcomers in left-hander Rich Rundles from Extended Spring Training and right-hander Randy Newsom from Kinston - both, as luck would have it, are sidearmers.
“You have a bunch of guys out there now who are bullpen guys, and have been,” Aeros manager Tim Bogar said. “I like the way our bullpen sets up now. I like having Newsom and Rundles like that and (Reid) Santos closing the game.”
Bogar was referring to the Aeros starting the season with a handful of pitchers in the bullpen who were really starters like Joe Ness (who’s now in the starting rotation) and Jake Dittler (since promoted to Triple-A Buffalo).
On Monday, right-hander Nick Pesco joined the group from Triple-A Buffalo, giving Bogar even more options late in the game.
Newsom earned his first save Tuesday night in the Aeros 5-3 win - a sight Aeros fans ought to get used to, especially with Santos struggling as of late.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:53 pm
What is the word on youngster Gregorio Rosario? I know that he is still a teenager, but his numbers look awful impressive thus far. Any chance that this kid becomes the next Joakim Soria (new Kansas City Royals closer) in a few years?
May 24th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Jacob - You’re a head of the curve in wondering about Rosario- the 18-year-old was the Player to be Named Later the Tribe picked up in the Jason Davis deal to Seattle last week.
While it’s way too early to suggest Rosario compares to any big leaguer, I can tell you this much: He’s a 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-handed pitcher that has spent the last two seasons pitching for the Mariners team in the Dominican Summer League. In those two seasons he’s 11-4 with a 3.01 ERA in 23 starts. In 122.2 innings, he’s got great strikeout (112) to walk (40) ratio.
To help give you some more information, I asked Indians director of player development Ross Atkins for more specifics and here’s what he said (thanks to my trusty tape recorder):
“He’s young and athletic. He’s a strike thrower with a clean delivery and arm. He’s also an intelligent and mentally strong individual. He has four pitches (fastball, curve ball, slider, change), three of which are average.”