Royals Projections: Relief Pitchers

Is there anything worse than going into the late innings with a two-run lead just to watch it disappear? How about a four-run lead? Royals fans feel pretty confident once we get Joakim Soria on the mound...but getting there? That's a different story.

The Royals bullpen only has two set pitchers. Joakim Soria and Robinson Tejeda are the only "locks". After that, it's all competition. The Royals will break camp with six or seven relief pitchers, so there are some spots that need filled.

This was a little harder than the other positions to break down to see who was going to make the team. Ned Yost has already stated he wants two lefties, so I have at least that to go on. If you have been following these projections, you may understand that I am not biased in any way when making my projections. I use their statistics from the last three years and the patterns they create. I take into account age, how long they have been playing, what level they have been playing at and any reports that have come out on that player. I then take my projections, Bill James and the Marcel projections and average them out to get a nice, argumentative estimate on how a player will do this season.

The relief pitchers...

C Joakim Soria

Soria is a stud. There, that's my thoughts.

Let me be the first to predictably predict that Soria will be the only Royal to make the All-Star game this year...and he won't do it as the "Mexicutioner". Soria wants to support his heritage, and he wants nothing to do with violence. So, per his request, we must stop using this nickname. I think he has deserved the respect to not call him this anymore, but it will be hard. He needs a new nickname...something cute and harmless that won't support violence in any way. It could be one of those ironic nicknames that are just the opposite of what they appear...like "Little John". Quick, what's the exact opposite of the "Mexicutioner"? or maybe we just do it the old fashioned way and shorten his name and add a "y" to the end...like "Joaky" (wok-ee)...um...nevermind...

                     W     L     IP     K/9     W/9     WHIP     ERA     S

My projection:  2     2     62     10.08    2.25     1.01     1.86     38

Bill James       4     3     67      9.94     2.42     1.04     2.42     45

Marcel            3     3     63      8.86      2.71    1.14     2.93     29

TOTAL (avg)   3     3     64      9.63      2.46     1.06     2.40     37

Soria's is the only projection that I included saves. I like the "Saves" stat about as much as I like the "Wins" or "Losses" stat...not much.

Robinson Tejeda

The other "lock" for the bullpen is Tejeda. Robby can throw hard and has decent stuff. Striking people out has never been an issue for him. His issues have been whether or not he can locate the plate. He did a better job last year than before, cutting his walk rate almost in half. Bob and Yost are hoping he continues to improve, as am I.

                    W     L     IP     K/9     W/9     WHIP     ERA

My projection:  4     4     67     8.5     4.47     1.3      3.74

Bill James       4     3     51     8.12    5.12    1.45    4.06

Marcel            3     4     65     8.17    4.15    1.29    3.67

TOTAL (avg)   3     4     61     8.26    4.58     1.35    3.82

Blake Wood

A young arm, Blake can throw hard. He induces ground balls. Sounds like a good match for the bullpen, right? If only he would increase his K rate and reduce his W rate. I'm hoping this year he does just that.

                    W     L     IP     K/9     W/9     WHIP     ERA

My projection:  2     5     63     5.62     3.6     1.53     4.63

Bill James       2     4     52     6.23     3.81    1.6      5.19

Marcel            2     3     51     6.48     3.42    1.38     4.32

TOTAL (avg)   2     4     55     6.11     3.61     1.5      4.71

Of course, I think if he is as bad as a 4.71 ERA, The Royals just may replace him. They have too many young arms to not. We will see.

Jeremy Jeffries

I just don't see how he doesn't pitch for the Royals this season. The only way I see he doesn't is if he doesn't break camp with the team, and in his depression, he starts smoking the weed to much and decides to quit baseball and move to Europe in hopes to "find himself".

Jeremy will have the hardest stuff on the team. We are talking three digits. On top of that fastball is a big, fat curve that is gonna buckle even the best of hitters. He can be a little wild at times, but he's gonna strike people out.

                    W     L     IP     K/9     W/9     WHIP     ERA

My projection:  3     3     49     7.06     3.73     1.4     2.81

Marcel            2     1     30     7.5      3.3       1.3      3.90

TOTAL (avg)   3     2     40     7.28     3.52     1.35     3.36

I didn't have the Bill James projection, so it is not as round as I like.

The rest of the pitchers are all up in the air. I believe rule 5 pick Nate Adcock makes the team and is probably protected throughout the season. He'll come into games with a thick lead or if we are getting our butts handed to us.

As far as lefties go, I really think Everett Teaford has a shot. It may end up a race between him and Danny Duffy. Both would fill in for long relief. The other lefty spot is a race between Blaine Hardy, Tim Collins and Brandon Sisk. If you haven't heard of Collins, he may be the most interesting of the bunch. He has a great K rate with an above average fastball. I think if he performs, he may become a fan favorite. Due to being...height challenged...I envision a clever nickname.

All together, it may prove to be an interesting bullpen. It may end up a merry-go-round of pitchers, but I hope not. I hope to see some pitchers step up and help stabalize our pitching staff. One thing is for sure, Bob McClure has his hands full.