PTBNL, Kevin Pucetas, Could Be Decent in the Bullpen

I was in the middle of several projects when Kevin Pucetas was named as the Player to be Named Later in the Jose Guillen trade. Finally today, I was able to take a look at what we got for WHEELZ. Just looking at the numbers, because that is how roll here in our Toledo basements, he could actually be decent member of the bullpen, possibly the long relief specialist.

First, here are Kevin's stats in the minors along with his projected 2010 stats by CHONE and ZIPS:

Kevin Pucetas	Team	G	GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	BABIP	LOB%	ERA	FIP
2006	Giants (A-)	15	15	70.2	7.64	2.42	0.25	0.283	75.50%	2.17	2.89
2007	Giants (A)	27	23	145.1	6.44	1.3	0.43	0.277	78.90%	1.86	2.99
2008	Giants (A+)	24	24	125.1	7.32	1.94	0.43	0.302	72.90%	3.02	2.96
2009	Giants (AAA)	28	28	159	5.43	2.83	0.85	0.310	64.90%	5.04	4.33
2010	CHONE	26	26	136	5.23	3.44	1.19	0.318	68.60%	5.23	4.96
2010	ZiPS	28	27	144.3	4.61	2.87	1	0.303	66.60%	4.80	4.57
2010	Giants (AAA)	26	26	136	6.29	4.04	1.13	0.349	69.90%	5.69	5.02

(stats courtesy of Fangraphs.com)

His minor league stats all are respectable until 2010, when his loses some control. The key numbers to look at are his projected ERAs around 5.00 (5.23 and 4.8). These numbers were for a starter at the major league level. If he was moved to the bullpen, his ERA should be expected to drop by 1.00 (study on ERA changes when moving from starter to reliever).

If Kevin is moved to the pen, we should expect an ERA out of him of ~4.00. An ERA of 4.00 would put him as the 6th best reliever this past season for those relievers with over 10 appearances:

Name	ERA	Games
Joakim Soria	1.78	66
Gil Meche	2.08	11
Kyle Farnsworth	2.42	37
Robinson Tejeda	3.54	54
Dustin Hughes	3.83	57
Kanekoa Texeira	4.64	27
Blake Wood	5.07	51
Josh Rupe	5.59	11
Jesse Chavez	5.88	23
Brad Thompson	6.41	16
Greg Holland	6.75	15
Victor Marte	9.76	22

 

Kevin will not be an All-Star someday, but he could actually be an OK bullpen guy. After last season's disaster of a bullpen, any help will be appreciated.