Depth Chart Predictions: Relief Pitching
Part IX of SaintsBlog’s Depth Chart Predictions covers the unsung heroes: the relief pitching.
…finally…
This is the final part of SaintsBlog’s DCPs.
…relief pitching is only a question mark in comparison with the other parts of the team, given how stacked the saints are this year. with that having been said, the saints have perhaps the best closer in independent baseball in tony pierce, and i’m predicting a big year for craig molldrem, a 6′6” righty who might become george’s 8th inning guy…
Middle Relief (no particular order)
1A. Mike Bille
…bille actually impressed me a lot in the exhibition season. he has very good control of his off-speed stuff, and, as all baseball fans know, nothing is more frustrating than watching a guy come in from the ‘pen and promptly walk hitters. he’s a 6′2” righty from torrence, california, and spent last year with evansville (frontier league). he was a closer in the frontier league, finishing 3rd last year with 36 games finished and 5th with 15 saves. look for him to get some looks in the 7th inning when george wants to put a guy on the mound who’s gonna fool some over-aggressive hitters…
1B. Kyle Foster
…foster is a hard throwing righty who graduated from local hamline university last year before joining the saints for the stretch run. he’s 6′6”, and i’m personally surprised that a guy with his stuff hasn’t gotten a look in affiliated ball. foster will come into the game when george needs a strike out, and might see himself getting thrown into big spots this year. in fact, with the saints last year, foster allowed only earned run in his first 10 IP, spanning 7 appearances. he’s got the make-up to be a big help in the saints ‘pen this year…
1C. Dustin Bolton
…bolton will most likely be the odd-man-out of the rotation, with brian whinnery expected to take the #5 spot in the rotation. bolton actually pitched with bille in evansville for some time in 2006. after some time with evansville and the kansas city t-bones (northern league), bolton joined the american association in the offseason before the 2007 season, joining the st. joe blacksnakes. despite a rough stretch on a very bad team, including 7 consecutive decisions lost, bolton maintained a sub-4.50 ERA in st. joe, and eventually joined st. paul after an august trade for a player to be named (something tells me the saints won’t have to pay up). bolton started 2 games with the saints, totaling 14 innings and 7 runs surrendered. bolton has some good stuff, and might end up seeing time as the long man for the saints this year. you can’t underestimate how important a good long man will be this year in st. paul, especially with the offensive firepower the saints have. there’s really no deficit that is too steep for this year’s saints…
Setup Man
…not many guys on the saints bring the heat like the last two guys that we’ll discuss today. molldrem, 6′6”, 205, from jupiter, florida, throws straight gas. molldrem was actually drafted in the 8th round of the 2004 amateur draft by the florida marlins. molldrem had two separate stints with double-a carolina (southern league), with the most recent coming last year before his first promotion to triple-a albuquerque (pacific coast league). he pitched well in triple-a, giving up only 3 runs in 9 innings of relief spanning 6 appearances, however, he would eventually be sent back down to carolina, and the saints are surely happy to have this guy for the start of their season, although he is one of the players, like luis villarreal and brent krause, who simply may not last in independent baseball because of his talent. while he is a saint, he’ll throw hard, strike batters out, and most likely form the bridge to tony pierce…
Closer
1. Tony Pierce
…can somebody please explain to me why tony pierce is not playing affiliated ball somewhere, on the verge of becoming a major leaguer? this guy throws his fastball in the low- to mid-90s and has a brad lidge-eque slider. he made the miesville mudhens look like a little league team last week, and he does much of the same in the american association. after some time in the braves’ organization, including a brief stint in double-a greenville, pierce went back to school to get his masters degree from 2002-2004. pierce would then make his return to baseball with the grays of the independent can-am league. in 2006, he pitched for pensacola, finishing the year 2nd in the american association in saves with 21 and 2nd in games finished with 37. he also received the relief pitcher of the year award, as voted on by managers and media. he finished his season in the atlantic league, before coming back to the american association last year with the saints. he saved 12 games for st. paul last year with a 3.10 ERA. it’s nice to have the luxury of not getting nervous with a 1-run lead in the 9th, and pierce affords saints fans exactly that…
…now, full steam ahead in preparation for the game tonight…
Tags: Craig Molldrem, Depth Chart Predictions, Dustin Bolton, Kyle Foster, Mike Bille, Player Profiles, Tony Pierce
