Once September 1st rolls around and MLB rosters can expand to 40 men, we should expect the clubhouse to be home to a few new faces. Last year, the Royals called up Brett Hayes, Francisley Bueno, Pedro Ciriaco, Carlos Pena, Donnie Joseph, Johnny Giavotella, Wade Davis, Louis Coleman, Yoradno Ventura, Irving Falu,and Chris Dwyer. For those counting at home, that's one backup catcher, three middle infielders, one DH/1B, two starting pitchers, and 4 relief pitchers.
just_another_fan previewed a few possibilities for call-ups here, here, and here.
I'm interested in how the Royals plan to construct their September bullpen. Below is a list of current bullpen options, both in KC and also in the AAA and AA ranks.
NAME |
THROWS |
ERA (AAA ERA) |
K/BB (AAA K/B) |
40-Man? |
Davis |
Right |
0.77 |
13.4/3.1 |
Yes |
Holland |
Right |
1.75 |
12.8/3.0 |
Yes |
Herrera |
Right |
1.47 |
7.9/3.8 |
Yes |
Bueno |
Left |
4.13 |
5.7/1.9 |
Yes |
Frasor |
Right |
1.93 |
8.7/1.9 |
Yes |
Downs |
Left |
3.48 |
2.6/3.5 |
Yes |
Chen |
Left |
6.39 |
8.5/2.1 |
Yes |
Collins |
Left |
4.15 (2.72) |
5.2/5.2 (12.0/3.2) |
Yes |
L. Coleman |
Right |
7.48 (3.86) |
6.2/5.4 (12.0/3.4) |
Yes |
Crow |
Right |
3.86 |
5.1/3.5 |
Yes |
AAA RELIEVERS |
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Mariot |
Right |
6.48 (4.95) |
7.6/4.3 (11.3/3.2) |
Yes |
C. Coleman |
Right |
(2.23) |
(7.1/3.6) |
Yes |
Baumann |
Left |
(3.19) |
(6.8/3.3) |
No |
Wood |
Right |
(4.32) |
(10.3/7.6) |
Yes |
Mortensen |
Right |
(4.14) |
(7.4/2.4) |
No |
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AAA STARTERS |
||||
Brooks |
Right |
(4.09) |
(6.1/1.6) |
Yes |
Hendriks |
Right |
(2.83) |
(9.0/1.5) |
Yes |
Dwyer |
Left |
(5.40) |
(9.3/5.4) |
Yes |
Lamb |
Left |
(4.05) |
(8.6/4.5) |
Yes |
Marimon |
Right |
(3.56) |
(7.2/2.8) |
No |
AA RELIEVERS |
||||
Finnegan |
Left |
[2.45] |
[9.0/1.64] |
No |
Ferguson |
Right |
[2.93] |
[7.2/2.5] |
No |
Selman |
Left |
[3.87] |
[8.4/4.7] |
No |
Of all of those relievers, it seems like the best options might be some familiar faces. Collins and Coleman struggled in their time in KC this year, but have shown the most success in AAA. Finnegan is another very interesting option given that he's a lefty with a supposedly devastating slider, that should make him a good LOOGY candidate, especially if his control is as good as his early numbers suggest. Hendriks looks promising in his small AAA sample size and based on his one KC start. And, of course, there's Crow. Crow has not been good this year, but still possesses acceptable numbers against righties (career K/BB rate of 8.9/3.6, 2014 K/BB rate of 6.1/3.0).
So, in my opinion Crow, Collins, Coleman, Hendriks and Finnegan look to be the best options. That would leave the bullpen with Herrera, Davis and Holland, along with 5 LHP (Chen, Bueno, Finnegan, Collins, Downs) and 4 RHP (Crow, Coleman, Hendriks, Frasor). That would give Yost some LOOGY/ROOGY options to play platoon splits (Down, Bueno, Finnegan, Crow, Coleman) but still have guys leftover for long-relief (Frasor, Hendriks, Chen, Collins) in case any games go extras.
What say you?