AL CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TWINS
DIVISION RANK : 1 (MLB RANK : 2)
Closer – Joe Nathan – Watching Joe Nathan entire a game, usually means that it’s lights out for the opposition. Can you believe that this guy was dealt for AJ Pierzynski (oh…along with Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano!!! OUCH!)
Grip on Closers Role – Extremely Firm
Injury Concerns – Minimal
Next in Line – Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier
Waiversharks.com Deep Sleeper Candidate – Jose Mijares. This 24-year old left looked solid in a brief audition as a late call-up in September. Without a need to drive a push for a young arm to develop, this Venezuelan can potentially step in as a set-up man while the Twins wait for super set-up man Pat Neshak to get healthy again.
Even Deeper…An arm in the system to watch belongs to (William) Ricky Barrett. Keeping hitters at bay with an impressive .218 BA last season, while racking up 81 big K’s in 70 innings, this lefty has been seasoning his skills in Venezuela for winter ball in hopes of making the big club. If he does; he’ll have a huge mountain to climb, but could one day be a go-to guy for Gardenhire’s Gang.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
DIVISION RANK : 2 (MLB RANK : 5)
Closer – Bobby Jenks – The box topped Jenks has been extremely effective in his tenure as game ender on the South Side of the Windy City . Expect that to continue through the 2009 season. A couple of nagging injuries and a team-wide sub-standard season held the 275 pounder to only 30 saves, expect a return to a plus-40 save season.
Grip on Closers Role – Extremely Firm
Injury Concerns – Slight
Next in Line – Octavio Dotel, Scott Linebrink
Waiversharks.com Deep Sleeper Candidate – Ehren Wasserman. Shift aside the 7.78 ERA in his second stint of MLB ball and take a deeper look at this 28-year olds minor league stats and you will be impressed. He has shown flashes and had success at every stage thus far in his pro career and is capable of being a surprise piece in a stellar bullpen. He accumulated 7 saves at AAA Charlotte last year, while racking up 42 K’s in 39 innings. With so many weapons, a major falling out would have to occur to get a true shot, but Wasserman is definitely a serviceable option should they need him.
Even Deeper…Jon Link. At 24, Link was able to close an impressive 35 saves in Birmingham (AA) last year, to show that like the Sox, he has plans to challenge Jenks in the near future. Success in the minors doesn’t always translate into MLB success, but this year he should be making the jump to AAA ball and could perhaps be a mid-season call-up.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
DIVISION RANK : 3 (MLB RANK : 7)
Closer – Joakim Soria – “The Mexicutioner” in my opinion would be ranked even higher if the Royals could get their stuff together and put together more save situations. Expect Soria to continue his rise to the upper-echelon of closers in ‘09
Grip on the Closers Role – Extremely Firm
Injury Concerns – Minimal
Next in Line – Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta
Waiversharks.com Deep Sleeper Candidate – Neal Musser. At 28 this could be a make or break season. He hasn’t looked out of place when with the big club, but with the addition of guys like Kyle Farnsworth and Doug Waechter it appears that the chances are limited that he will truly get a legitimate shot.
Even Deeper… Devon Lowery. This 25 year old righty will make a move this year and could shock some by launching his way up the depth charts. He didn’t get a good enough chance to show if he belongs as a late call-up last season, but we expect some serious growth out of him in ’09.
CLEVELAND INDIANS
DIVISION RANK : 4 (MLB RANK : 18)
Closer – Kerry Wood – The oft-injured former starter brought back some of the lustre with a solid breakout campaign in the role of closer with the Cubbies in 2008. Expect more of the same and by that I mean when he’s not on the DL, he’ll be solid…It’s just a matter of it being more than a 50/50 situation.
Grip on the Closers Role – Firm
Injury Concerns – Extremely High
Next in Line – Rafael Perez, Jensen Lewis
WaiverSharks.com Deep Sleeper Candidate – Jon Meloan. Acquired in the Casey Blake deal, this one-time “future Dodgers Closer” has a real opportunity to make the Indians Opening Day roster and cause a ruckus. Still at only 24, the future is bright for the big Texan. Ideal closer size of 6’3” and a mix bag of tricks, depending on how they treat groom him, he could be the solution if Wood runs into trouble.
Note: WaiverSharks also just got word that prospect Adam Miller could also be heading to the pen. Perhaps this will help rejuvenate and kick start his injury plagued career. He certainly possesses the velocity to be closer, but let’s see how this experiment goes this spring.
Even Deeper…Definitely a project, but the Tribe seems to like what they see so far in Dominican Republic native Luis Perdomo. A hard-throwing slender righty with a style similar to Mariano Rivera, he’s contributed seasons of 81 and 82 K’s in the last two seasons while plowing through the A ball rankings.
DETROIT TIGERS
DIVISION RANK : 5 (MLB RANK : 25)
Closer – Fernando Rodney – It doesn’t seem that the Tigers are willing to fully hand over the reins of their closer role to the mentally shakable Rodney. In his two previous auditions, Rodney has struggled with pitch count and allowing baserunners. Expect a slight move prior to opening day and Fernando in a more comfortable set-up role.
Grip on the Closers Role – Loose
Injury Concerns – Fair
Next in Line – Brandon Lyon, Freddy Dolsi (and of course Joel Zumaya, pending return from another injury)
Waiversharks.com Deep Sleeper Candidate – Ni Fu-Te. While not much is known about the Taiwanese lefty that many consider the equivalent of Hideki Okajima, the Tigers ‘pen has some definite question marks. Should Lyon, or Rodney display signs of inability to close out games on a consistent basis, don’t expect Jim Leyland to sit around and stumble through another disastrous season as his future in the D may be put into scope. Fu-Te has some experience in closing out games and while he doesn’t have necessarily overpowering stuff, he has a couple of things under his belt that make him valuable…Most importantly, control of his pitch location.
Even Deeper…Ryan Perry. Drafted last year, many expect him to be the next big arm in what has quickly become a decimated stock of young power arms. While Perry definitely has the stuff, he surely will need some continued seasoning as he has only one pro season under his belt. Hopefully ownership won’t rush him through and have another power arm that blows out and runs its’ course prematurely. (See Matt Anderson and soon to add to the list, Joel Zumaya)
