The Durham Bulls in 2013 — Pitchers — Part 2

This continues our look at the Durham Bulls pitchers for 2013. They are discussed in the innings-pitched sequence shown in the table in Part 1. Charts in this post exclude a couple of pitchers who will be discussed when we get to them: Craig Albernaz, Matt Moore, Austin Hubbard, and Braulio Lara.

Durham Bulls Pitchers, 2013
click for larger image

Steve Geltz (RHRP) came to the Bulls out of the Angels system and made his first appearance with the team on April 6 (and got one of his 5 wins). He had the most innings of any of the relief corps (67) and appeared in 41 games. He was arguably the best of the relievers (not counting the closer crew of Lueke and Yates, but even there Geltz had 3 saves). Middle relievers are notoriously hard to evaluate. But Geltz has two stats that jump out at you. His Walks and Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) was an impressive 0.85, the best on the team among the regular pitchers, and his ERA was 2.82. The majority of games he appeared in the Bulls won (26 out of 41). The mystery will be, of course, if he can get a contract and an invitation to spring training next year. He should. Stats.

Kirby Yates (RHRP) had a great year, as we’ve discussed a few times. If he seemed a bit tired near the end, he did pick up four (!) saves in postseason play. Stunning WHIP, ERA, and FIP numbers over his 61⅔ innings and 51 appearances. Fortunately for the Bulls, if not for him, he was not on the 40-man, so he was with the Bulls all year. Next year? The Bulls can hope. The Rays may be coming up on a decision time for him. Stats.

Adam Liberatore (LHRP) was in a lot of games (43) for quite a few innings (60) mostly in short relief and occasionally in a left-on-left situation. Most years we have not seen the Bulls play matchup very often, but this year when there were sometimes four lefties available (Liberatore, Beliveau, De Los Santos, and Riefenhauser) we saw more matchup appearances. His numbers are sort of middle of the pack for the 2013 Bulls, which means they are pretty good. A particularly low FIP of 2.42 means that the coaches are likely to be talking about what else he’s got. He could make it to the 40-man or be part of a trade package in the off-season. Stats.

Josh Lueke (RHRP) did a terrific job for the Bulls all year, making him and Kirby Yates an almost unbeatable team at the end of a game. His 17 saves matched up with Yates’ 20. Lueke got called up 4 times during the year. He appeared in 19 games for the Rays with an ERA of 5.06 and a WHIP of 1.64, nothing approaching his numbers for the Bulls. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like the Rays were using him in save situations. A very deliberate presence on the mound, he could be irritating if you were ready to go home, but going home with a win was worth it. Not on first round post-season roster for Rays. Stats.

Chris Archer (RHSP) started the season with the Durham Bulls and pitched in 10 games, not particularly successfully. But he was very likely working on specific pitches and waiting for his opportunity with the Rays. When that came in late May, he was off and not looking back. As a Ray he’s accumulated a very respectable (great!) 9-7 record, ERA 3.22 over 23 starts. He is on the Rays’ post-season roster and will be starting one of the early games of the ALDS. We won’t see him back in Durham except as a visitor. Stats.

Cory Wade (RHRP) was a Bull back in 2011 and we were pleased to see the Bulls pick him up during the confusion of mid-May. We also thought he’d be working hard to get back on a major league team. He did just fine, including several crucial spot starts. His ERA of 2.17 over 30 games and 50 innings was superb, the third best among the regulars. When it apparently became clear to him in late August that he was not going to get added to the Rays’ 40-man, he was released. He finishied out the season with the New York Mets Triple-A team, the Las Vegas 51s. Maybe he will make it back as a Met next year. Stats.

Alex Torres (LHSP/RP) has been with the Bulls for parts of three seasons. We have been quite critical of the young man, especially as he struggled through last season with an ERA of 7.30 over 26 games and 69 innings. Rumor at the beginning of 2013 was that he had worked something out over the winter. That was surely the way it looked in his 9 games he started with the Bulls this spring. His ERA wasn’t great, but his WHIP was, for Torres, an exceptional 1.20. Other metrics looked just fine. The Rays, however, had an eye on him as a left-handed reliever. He went up in mid-May, came back for two games, and went back up after a late May game. With the Rays he’s appeared in 39 games, all in relief. He has had an extraordinary WHIP of 0.90 and an equally exceptional ERA of 1.71. He is on the post-season roster and unlikely to be back in a Bulls uniform any time soon. He is a great example of how fans can almost never really get a grip on a ballplayer’s potential. Folks in the Rays system did not give up on Torres and he has paid them back. Stats.

Jeff Beliveau (LHRP) joined the Bulls a couple of weeks into the season. From the stands we always perceived him as a left-handed reliever-in-waiting and he made numerous trips to the Rays during the season. But he did not get into a game until September, after the Bulls season was over. Used almost exclusively in short relief, at the end of the season we realized, much like Steve Geltz, that he was one the the guys who really made a difference this year. Some of his metrics are on the high end, but he was a pretty reliable guy. Unless he gets involved in some trading activity, we’d guess he’ll be back with Durham next year. Fine with us if he is. Stats.

Jim Paduch (RHSP/RP) didn’t have all that good a year with the Bulls in 2012, but who did? So we weren’t too worried about him coming back this year. He won his first game pitching in relief of Mike Montgomery, but things really did not look all that good in his next several games. His best game was at the end of May, but by then it was too late. He was offered at job in Montgomery, but decided to retire instead. Always seemed like a nice guy to me, and he had a terrific backstory of getting up to AAA by way of several seasons in independent ball. But it wasn’t working out. Good luck, Jim. Stats.

Will Inman had a decent enough 2012 with the Pawtucket Red Sox, so he seemed a reasonable choice to help fill out the Bulls bullpen this year. But he wasn’t very impressive from the start and, while he didn’t have any truly disastrous innings, over time the bad news seemed to accumulate. By June his ERA was up to 6.47. He left the game with an injury on June 3, pitched in three more after coming off the DL, and was released in late June. Stats.

Frank De Los Santos (LHRP) is a pitcher who seems to have been around a very long time. But he actually hasn’t. He is only 25 years old. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. This year was no exception. He did appear in 26 games, but for just 32 innings. There were a couple of moments in 2012 where he looked very, very good. But we did not see any of that in this year's games. He appeared in 11 games, went on the DL, came back in early July and appeared in 15 more games. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox at season’s end. If he’d ever been truly healthy my guess is that he could have been something special. Stats.

Juan Sandoval (RHRP) spent most of his year with the Montgomery Biscuits (46 games/58 innings). But he sure was handy when he visited the Bulls. The first time was a stretch from late May to late June (11 games/19 innings) when he posted some good numbers and only got in trouble once. Then he came back at the end of the season for a desperately needed spot start in a end-of-season double header. In the Bulls’ post-season he was perfect over 4⅓ innings. At 32, Sandoval is famously coming back from serious injury and a lot of time in the Mexican League. Can he stick at AAA? Maybe we will find out next year. Stats.

C.J. Riefenhauser (LHRP) came up from Montgomery at the beginning of July and yet only appeared in 17 games and just 21 innings. He did OK, but each year of his professional career he’s been pitching fewer and fewer innings (2011 - 138, 2012 - 114, 2013 - 73). That leads to concerns about his fundamental strength and durability. He had one of the better WHIP (1.06) of the Bulls and if his time in Montgomery is included it was superb (0.83). Maybe it’s just a matter of opportunity. We’ll have to see next year. Stats.

Brandon Gomes (RHRP) spent a couple of weeks with the Bulls in August as he was working his way back to the Rays. Probably more time than he really needed, but the Rays were manipulating their roster at the time and Gomes had options left. He was very helpful as he pitched 10⅓ innings over 9 games with a WHIP of just 0.77. Stats.

Enny Romero (LHSP) was in only one regular season game for the Bulls, but that was a brilliant 8-inning shutout of the Norfolk Tides the last game of the year. He went on to pitch 2 innings in relief in the playoffs and after the AAA season’s end got called up to the Rays for one game start against Baltimore where he got a win. He had an excellent year in Montgomery, so we can expect him to start 2014 as a top Rays prospect, possibly with the Bulls. He is now on the Rays’ 40-man, although he was not at the end of the Bulls’ season. Stats.

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Players Not in the Charts

Ramon Ramirez (RHRP) was hired by the Rays in mid-July in what has to be described as a speculative flyer. At the time, however, there were a lot of Rays pitchers with injury problems. Ramirez appeared in just 6 games for the Bulls and pitched only 6 innings before being released at the end of the month. Stats.

Matt Moore (LHSP) had a one-game, 4-inning rehab appearance on August 29. Didn’t do all that great, but the Bulls won the game against the Braves 7-6. Adam Liberatore got the win. Box.

Craig Albernaz is a catcher, not a pitcher, but he did have three appearances on the mound this year and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and recording 2 strikeouts. Not one walk. Well done!

Braulio Lara (LHRP) came up from Montgomery at the very end of the season and pitched 3 innings in relief of Juan Sandoval, who had come up to pitch in that same game. He had a busy 45 game, 72 inning year in Montgomery, but did not have all that strong a set of numbers (ERA 4.38, WHIP 1.54). Stats.

Austin Hubbard (RHRP) came up from Single A Charlotte for just one game in mid-May when the Bulls were on the road in Rochester. The Red Wings scored 5 runs off of him in just ⅔ of an inning (they had earlier scored 5 runs in one inning off of Jim Paduch). He then went off to Montgomery where he had 31 more  not particularly good innings on the year. The relentless arithmetic of baseball stats left him with the highest ERA of any Bull this year (67.5) and the lowest number of innings pitched (⅔). No surprise if you think about it. Stats.

Rain and Rosterification

DBAP, July 2, 3:30 pm

Game 84, July 1, 7 innings
Durham Bulls 1, Columbus Clippers 2

Game 85, July 1, 7 innings
Durham Bulls 5, Columbus Clippers 0

Season: 52-33; Home Stand 2-1
Box (1), Box (2), Herald-Sun

With the sight of the tarp on the field at 3 in the afternoon, might as well take a look at last night and at all the changes in the Bulls roster. Have to mention, however, that it could be Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching  for the Clippers tonight against one of the Bulls new guys, Merrill Kelly. Last time we saw Matuzaka in the DBAP he was on a rehab appearance pitching for the Pawtucket Red Sox, and the Bulls had Hideki Matsui here making a comeback run.

Mike Montgomery got in a “complete” game in his seven innings last night, but none of the Bulls were able to figure out the Clippers’ Danny Salazar. Salazar went 6⅓ innings before he faced any more than the minimum number of hitters. Good pitching and good defense (2 double plays, two very nice throws from the outfield cutting off advancing runners) helped.

In the second game, the Bulls going (yet again) with a committee of pitchers, went much better. Pitching was solid with the crew getting a rare shutout. Only 4 so far this year, the last back on April 29, but only 7 innings.

Shelley Duncan had a particularly impressive night, 2 for 3 and the only RBI in the first game and 3 for 3 with a RBI in the second game. Left field seems to agree with him.

Rosterification and more —

• Alex Colome is back, but it appears the Rays broke him and he may be headed for the DL.
• We have to mention the rare instance of WDBB being more or less right about something when, right after we published our analysis of Bulls pitching, Will Inman was released.
• That helps make sense of the addition of RHP Ramon S. Ramirez to the team. The 31 year-old Ramirez certainly brings a lot of experience to the Bulls, but not quite sure what else. Stats.
• Similarly, the Bulls desperately need an outfielder and in Evan Frey they seem to have acquired a player much like Rich Thompson. His advanced stats are not very promising, but we like speed and that appears to be his strength. We saw him pinch run in the first game and start in center field for the second game. Stats.
• Ryan Roberts hit two home runs for the Rays last night and was optioned back to the Bulls. Hope he brings that bat with him.
• J.D. Martin won the June version of the BCS/RPI award. (Click on the link. Not enough time to explain here.)
• After the deluge, Bull City Summer had a chat with groundsman Scott Strickland.
• Wonder if after all the frog-strangling rains PETA is going to take a second look at that award they gave the DBAP?
• Speaking of food, the Durham Food Truck Fest coming on July 10 is one heck on an idea. May be forced to get out of my seat and take a stroll around the park.

Why Don’t We Know What Happened To …

A good bit of sports writing is simply gossip. Nevertheless, in the end baseball is about the players and fans are very interested in the men who play this game. I’m not sure the Bulls (more likely the Rays) respect that interest when it comes to minor league ballplayers.

David Price is feeling good and that’s making headlines. I get that. A lot of media reps are watching the Rays and especially the progress of one of their stars. Downstream, however, things are very different. The Durham Bulls have five players on the disabled list and you would be hard-pressed to get any information at all about their status.

I don’t think that the information is completely unavailable, it is just that it’s limited to a single source coming through an ephemeral medium. That is, at some point in his broadcast each evening the Bulls broadcaster Patrick Kinas may provide an injury update. However, even fans as obsessed with the Bulls as we are don’t listen to every game, and couldn’t the Bulls do more for their fans anyhow?

Cases in point —

• Whatever happened to Hak-Ju Lee? In his case we know why he’s on the disabled list, but what’s happened since then? 
• Or Frank De Los Santos? In his case, as far as I know, fans were never informed regarding why he is on the DL, and certainly no prediction of his return to the team. 
• Will Inman? Excluding broadcast comment, all fans know is that he’s on the DL. Why? Is he with the team? 
• What about catcher Chris Gimenez? In his case we don’t even know why he’s on the list, something to do with his left hand? 
• And lastly the player who brought this rant on, Rich Thompson. A close reading of the June 6th Indy-Bulls play-by-play shows that he caught a fly ball in the bottom of the 4th inning and then left the game. That’s it as far as information available in non-broadcast media. Hearing a comment on the radio, WDBB queried Thompson over Twitter and got the response (thanks, Rich) that he could be out for the year. But why? What happened? 

I suppose I should take my complaint to the local newspapers. They are, after all, the only real reporters around here. But the only regular reportage of the Bulls comes from just one newspaper, Durham’s Herald-Sun. And their coverage isn’t actually a regular “beat” since it rotates through a couple of writers and is limited to home games. Yes, there’s a daily news story of away games in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Herald-Sun, but that’s just a cut and paste from the Bulls’ own release.

My guess is that the Rays and the Bulls figure that folks really don’t much care what a blogger thinks and that’s fair. But I really think there are more fans than just WDBB who would like to know what happened to these young men and what the prospects are of seeing them on the field in the future.

What’s the fix? Pretty straightforward it seems to me. An injury update press release from time to time would work just fine.

Leaving Town On a Very High Note

Season: 37-21; Home Stand: 7-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

This was a spectacular end to a home stand unlike any in recent memory. The Bulls scored 68 runs to their opponent’s 38 over the 8 games. Monday’s game was the most lopsided with the Bulls runs coming off of 16 hits, 9 walks, and a hit batsman. The hits included 5 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs, which added up to a stunning team OPS of 1.314, the best game of the season.

The anorexic (6’2“, 140 lbs) Rail Rider starter, Kelvin Perez , only lasted 1⅓ innings and was charged with 6 of the Bulls runs. He left the game alleging something wrong with his pitching arm, which seems entirely plausible.

Every Bull got at least one hit. Only Mike Fontenot and Tim Beckham didn’t get RBI, but they scored 3 (Fontenot) and 2 (Beckham) runs. If you have to pick out particularly outstanding performances, Jason Bourgeois’ 5 hit day (3 singles, 1 HR, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI) is up there. As is Rich Thompson’s double, 3 RBI triple, 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored; not to mention a spectacular catch in the bottom of the 2nd inning to kill a rally by the RRs.

Matt Buschmann’s first start was OK, but he didn’t last long enough to get the win. Will Inman left the game with an injury. Here’s hoping that it isn’t serious. Jeff Beliveau got the win. That should be at least some modest compensation for what must have been two extremely frustrating trips to and from the Rays in which he never got to throw a pitch. Maybe next time.

Outside the game —

• Former Bull Ryan Reid was just called up to the Pittsburg Pirates, so he won’t be seen in Indianapolis. Probably a good thing. His ERA in 20 games and 34 innings this year is a stellar 0.52. Reid appeared in 46 games and pitched 80 innings for the Bulls last year. One of the Bulls' bullpen stalwarts. This will be his first big league call up. He came up through the Rays system. Did the Rays let a talent get away from them? 

Have to put up this OPS chart. We probably won’t see its like again.

Walking Down By the Bay

Game 4, May 22	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Durham Bulls (Rays)	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	9	2
Norfolk Tides (Orioles)	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	x	4	4	0

Season: 27-19; Trip: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Virginian-Pilot

Bulls pitchers walked seven batters last night, 3 of them scored, and that was essentially the story of the game.

To be fair to Alex Torres he’s been bouncing around quite a bit in the last week. So he had something of an excuse for his rough first inning. Nevertheless, he walked two batters in the first inning and they both scored. Will Inman had less of an excuse. The batter he walked in the 5th scored and he had walked two more before he was pulled in the 6th. Jeff Beliveau, also back from the Rays, came in to settle things down and kept the base runners from scoring.

Overall, the Bulls split these last four games with the Tides 2-2. Every game was decided by one run, three of them by identical 3-2 scores. The Bulls hit reasonably well over the series, but had troubles getting base runners home.

Outside the game —

• Chris Gimenez is with the Bulls. I missed exactly what Kinas said, but apparently a minor injury. I was wrong. What’s new there?
• Mike Montgomery scheduled to start today.
• Tampa Bay is starting a series against the RailRiders parent club, the Yankees, today.

Pitiful

Game 36, May 11, DBAP	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs	0	0	1	1	0	0	7	0	0	9	13	2
Durham Bulls	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	3	8	0

Season: 22-14; Home Stand: 2-4
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Pitiful, just pitiful. Pitchers Chris Archer, Jim Paduch, and Will Inman combined to put on the worst pitching performance of the year. Each pitcher managed to load up the bases and then walk in a run — Inman walked in two. When the IronPigs’ Cody Asche hit a grand slam in the 7th, it was a mercy killing.

Baseball doesn’t care about yesterday. Good thing.

Not that it would have mattered last night, but I'm wondering if the Rays' are ever going to refill the Bulls' bullpen?

As long as I’m ranting, am I the only one who’s annoyed by Wil Myers’ showy bat toss? Last night he did it after a pitch coming in on a 3-2 count and he trotted toward first base. The ump called the pitch a strike and an out. (Myers had 3 Ks last night). He did it again on a long fly ball to center field — that was caught. When he gets to the majors he’s gonna get drilled. Might even happen in AAA. Of course, he’d have to be more of a threat than he’s been so far.

A Great Afternoon

Season: 14-6; Home Stand: 6-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

If you missed yesterday’s game (and there’s a good chance that you did since only 3,600 folks were there) then, too bad. It was the most interesting games I’ve seen this year. I like day games and this one could not have been more perfect.

Let’s start with the pitching. Jake Odorizzi is one of the several Royals Refugees in the Rays system. He gave up a home run in the first inning and two more plus a single in the second inning. That’s four runs against him when he came out for the 3rd inning. He then threw 10 balls in a row, and ending up walking the first three batters to load the bases. Of course, by this time catchers and coaches had worn paths to the mound. From a fan’s perspective the next at bat, Toledo’s DH John Lindsay, was the turning point of the game. And within that at bat the fourth pitch. On a 2-1 count, Odorizzi got a called strike and from that moment it seemed he never looked back. The next pitch was also called a strike for the first out of the inning. With the bases still loaded he struck out the next two batters. Three up, three down for the 4th. And a clean 5th inning. By this time, however, he was up to 99 pitches and was out.

Now, for reasons that escape me, Dave Myers decided to use up his bullpen. Four more pitchers came into the game and all except one did just fine. The exception was Will Inman, whom the gods of baseball really punished for his leadoff walk to start the 8th. A double, two singles, and yet another double later, the Mud Hens had scored 4 runs and the tying run was on second base. Frank De Los Santos, I pitcher I’m having a hard time trusting this year, got the Bulls out of the inning and then got a double play in the 9th to get his first save of the year.

But more than the pitching was fun to watch. As the line score shows, the Bulls hitters had a great day, scoring runs in 4 of 8 innings. Vince Belnome had a spectacular day at the plate with two doubles and two singles. He now leads the Bulls in all batting categories. He wasn’t alone, however, the Bulls had 16 hits, a season high, with 5 players having multi-hit games. Included was catcher Juan Apodaca who got his very first hits as a Durham Bull, a broken bat single at the top of the 2nd inning, and a double in the 5th.

Just to add a bit more fun to the game, wind played a factor as well. In general, wind doesn’t seem to have much of an effect at the DBAP, but yesterday it pushed balls around quite a bit and added a bit of excitement to every fly ball.

If you missed it, too bad. If you were there, wasn’t it fun?

Outside the game —

• I’ve been negligent in not mentioning the magnificent condition of the field at the DBAP. I haven’t walked on it, but from the stands it looks simply terrific. The best in my memory. A big hand to Scott Strickland and his crew.
• The stats sheets (available before the game at the fan assistance booth) are much better. Very useful summaries of the IL and the Bulls opponents. Thank you, Scott.
• Charlie Montoyo is due back today. The Herald-Sun reports that Dave Myers had fun managing the team in Charlie’s absence.

Guyer!

Season: 5-1

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

If you missed the first inning, you pretty much missed it all last night. Brandon Guyer set all sorts of records with his two home runs and 5 RBIs in the inning as 12 Bulls came to bat to score 10 runs. But there were hints of more that auger well for 2013.

Catcher Craig Albernaz, who is sure to get more playing time this year, had an RBI double in the inning and cracked two very authoritative-sounding, but caught, shots later in the game. Third baseman Cole Figueroa also had an RBI double and went on to pick up a single and a triple. Four other Bulls got hits in the inning, one of the biggest in Bulls’ history.

Not to be overlooked was Alexander Torres’ opening the game with 3Ks. He went on to have a very solid five innings. That raises our hopes regarding young Mr. Torres.

Bulls’ relievers were less impressive. At an inning each, neither new guy Steve Geltz nor Frank De Los Santos looked sharp. Possibly coming in with a huge (12-0) lead had something to do with it. But the two of them gave up 8 runs and pretty much ruined their ERAs for quite a while. (Speaking of ruining an ERA, Gwinnett starter Daniel Rodriguez was charged with nine runs on only one out — ERA = 243.00!)

Will Inman did just fine and Josh Lueke closed it out with some serious heat.

Outside the game —

• Regular readers may remember a project organized by Sam Stephenson that put together photography and stories centered on the Bulls and the DBAP near the end of the 2011 season. He’s back with something that should be very interesting as he has put together a crew to record the full 2013 season. Here’s one story and here’s a link to their exceptionally well done web site. Once they get going you will want to add the RSS feed as a regular place to visit. Stephenson and writer Adam Sobsey were interviewed yesterday on WUNC radio. Worth a listen.
• On opening day I almost went into full-blown rant mode when Doc and Merle Watson’s version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was not played for the 7th inning stretch. Pleased to report that they are back and in fine form.
• Great fun to watch/listen to current and former Bulls read lines from “Bull Durham” played as part of the evening between-innings work. Gotta find my 20th Anniversary hat. Should he hanging around the house somewhere.
• Adam Sobsey introduces the Bulls via Indy Week.

Who’s On the Mound? The Bulls 2013 Roster - 2

I am having trouble figuring out which pitchers are likely to be with the Bulls on opening day, particularly after I check their online roster and see 17 pitchers listed. How many of them are going to get on the bus for Norfolk next Wednesday (or will it be early Thursday morning)? I’m going to chop the list down to 13 just to give everyone of taste of how great the beginning of the year could be. Players on the Tampa Bay Ray 40-man are marked with asterisks. Note that there are eight of them on this list, including five of our potential starters! That has to be a first.

Also, please note that even at AAA the distinction between a “starter” and a “reliever” can be fuzzy. Heck, that can be fuzzy in the majors. As of today, the Rays have yet to choose their fifth starter.

Starters

• Chris Archer* is a first-rate, major league-ready pitcher. Sometime this season he will go up to the Rays and not come back. So check the schedule and make sure you get to the DBAP and see him pitch this spring. He did a fine job for the Bulls last season
• Jake Odorizzi* is new to the Rays system, but comes out of the Royals system with spectacular credentials. Stats. 
• Alex Torres* has been a top prospect in the Rays system for what seems like forever. Last year was awful. He is the only pitcher in this year’s starting lineup that worries me. But I’ve been wrong before. I hope that I am and Mr. Torres has somehow found his groove for 2013.
• Alex Colome* could easily start the year in Montgomery (with the Rays AA team the Montgomery Biscuits) or the Bulls. He did get a few innings in with the Rays in spring training. Stats.
• Mike Montgomery* is also over from the Royals and appeared in 17 games with their AAA team last year. Less impressive stats than the rest.
• Jim Paduch doesn’t quite fit any particular mold. At 30 he may end up in long relief, a spot starter, or a full-time starter if the Rays want to start the season with someone else down in AA instead of AAA. Not a great year in 2012, but he sure ate up a lot of innings.

Relievers

• Brandon Gomes* shouldn’t be with the Bulls, but he is and we are happy to have him. You can be sure that Montoyo and Neil Allen will put him to work. He is a terrific pitcher and is probably here only because of some quirk in the business of baseball.
• Josh Leuke* has decent stats, but we were really disappointed in his performance at the end of last year. He got a bit more playing time in major league spring training than most, so he must be looking pretty good this year.
• Frank De Los Santos* only pitched an inning major league camp and we have no data on the rest of the spring. Happy to have him back, but wonder if he's healthy.
• Adam Liberatore. I’m a big fan of Adam Liberatore. He had spectacular numbers with the Bulls last year. Here’s hoping he progresses this year.
• Will Inman is out of the Milwaukee, Padres, and Boston systems — and he’s only 25 years old! He did a heck of a job for Pawtucket last year, appearing in 35 games and keeping his ERA down at 2.23. Stats.
• Juan Sandoval is the famous blind-in-one-eye reliever who got a lot of press in spring training. He spent the last two years in the AAA Mexican League. Could be a lot of fun to watch. Stats.
• Steve Geltz is a very, very recent addition to the Rays system, out of the Angels in trade for Bull Dane De La Rosa. As noted elsewhere, in spite of his good numbers as a Bull, De La Rosa appeared to have lost the confidence of the Rays. Geltz could be fun to watch. Stats.

In sum, even if I’m wrong about one or two of these guys being on the opening day roster (imagine that!) , this is an amazing list. We could be in for some great baseball this year.

Next — start working on your lineups ...