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Opening Day Outlook: The Pitching Staff
4/1/2081
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

The rotation is anchored by 29 year old Kenny Pillsbury. The right-hander doesn't throw particularly hard, but his stuff is good enough to get a decent amount of strikeouts. His control is excellent, and he generally keeps the ball in the park. His career numbers so far include a 53-26 record, a 4.37 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP.

Followed by Pillsbury is veteran right-hander Arden Hawthorn. The 35 year old is one of the few pitchers who has been able to pitch consistently and solidly for many years in the unfriendly confines in which Denver plays. Not a huge strikeout guy, Hawthorn has survived because of his ability to throw the ball wherever he wants it, and by keeping the ball in the park. He has amassed a career record of 123-69, with a 4.65 career ERA, and a 1.39 WHIP. There are question marks around him, as he is coming off of the worst season of his career and is certainly no spring chicken. Can he rebound, or has he begun the inevitable decline?

The youngest member of the rotation is 26 year old, left-handed knuckleballer Robert McNett. When he's got control of his knuckleball, he has the ability to pick up quite a few strikeouts, while limiting both walks and homers. When he doesn't have control of it....
McNett has also been quite injury prone, having already suffered 4 lengthy injuries in his career.
His career line includes a 15-15 record, an ERA of 5.00, and a WHIP of 1.35.

The fourth spot belongs to 28 year old innings eater Christopher Kirk. Kirk throws hard, and can strike out a good number of hitters. He also has very good control, and can generally avoid homers. He has a 17-13 career record, a 5.23 ERA, and a 1.46 WHIP.

Tony Rivera will man the 5th spot in the rotation, though his turn will likely get skipped as often as possible. The 28 year old can throw hard, but doesn't get many strikeouts. He has decent control, and isn't excessively hittable; although, when he does give up hits, a good number will likely leave the park. His career numbers are: 24-26, 6.09 ERA, and a 1.55 WHIP.

Ramon Gomez has filled the role of closer for the last two seasons, and has reached the All-Star game in each of them. The 30 year old southpaw racks up a ton of K's, has excellent control, and is very difficult to get hits of any kind against. In addition, he's no one-inning specialist; in fact, he's quite capable of throwing multiple innings. He has 86 career saves, a 4.07 ERA, and a 1.31 WHIP. Both the ERA and WHIP have been dropping rapidly since he became the closer. In 490 2/3 IP, Gomez has whiffed 525 batters, while walking just 88.

31 year old right-hander James Virgen is the workhorse of the bullpen with 688 innings pitched in 517 career appearances. A hard-thrower, Virgen strikes out a lot of batters, and has solid control. He does a good job limiting home runs. Virgen has a 4.59 career ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

Roman Torre is the oldest pitcher in the bullpen at 33 years of age. A left-hander with good strikeout ability, good control, and an ability to keep the ball in the park, Torre has never really been able to put up pretty numbers for Denver on a consistent basis. One year, he'll have a very respectable ERA in the 4's; the next year, the ERA has jumped into the 7's. For his career, he has an uninspiring 5.60 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Torre also has a tendency to get hurt.

28 year old Fred Lemire has the least experience among Denver's relievers with only 26 career appearances. The hard-throwing right-hander can get some K's when he needs to, and doesn't walk too many. He is, however, vulnerable to the longball. In those 26 appearances, Lemire has a 4.56 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.

Leo Salguero is the third right-hander in the bullpen. 31 years old, Salguero has never had much success, posting a 6.07 ERA in 197 career apearances, along with a 1.59 WHIP. He throws hard, and has the ability to get a good number of K's, but his control is mediocre.

Florian Blanco is only 27 years old but has already pitched in more games than Lemire and Salguero. In 209 games, the left-hander has posted a 4.80 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He throws hard and gets a good number of K's, but his control isn't great and he is very susceptible to the home run.











Players to Watch in the Minors
4/1/2081
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

After analyzing Denver's 25 man roster, it would be a good idea to take a look at what players might be available in case of injury or struggling players.

Infielder Michael Phillips made a good impression a year ago, hitting .335/.435/.462 with an .896 OPS in a 39 AB cup of coffee. The 25 year old isn't much of a fielder, but has good plate discipline. If John McQuillen can't handle the job as Tomas Sato's platoon partner, Phillips may very well get an opportunity.

24 year old outfielder Robert Perkins made a strong case for a roster spot in spring training, but Denver management thinks that he needs a little more time at AAA, as he put up a mediocre .753 OPS at that level a year ago. Perkins projects as a good hitter for average who may develop a little pop eventually. He is not a good fielder.

Veteran outfielder Norman Cadet is the only other hitter at AAA who is likely to get much playing time in the big leagues. The 35 year old is a career .256/.324/.359 hitter, with a .684 OPS. He is good at making contact, and is an adequate centerfielder, with a strong arm.

On the pitching side of things, there are just three pitchers likely to be given an opportunity to make an impact.

26 year old Valentine McGurk throws hard and can strikeout quite a few hitters. However, he has only 8 starts above AA and no major league experience.

Larry Waltz is 32 years old, and has been in the organization since 2070. He's always flashed good potential, but has never really put it all together. A hard thrower who can strike hitters out, he also has good control, and generally keeps the ball in the park. Despite this, he has tended to be too hittable to have much success. He has 14 major league appearances, with 8 starts. He has posted a 7.11 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP.

Another player who made a good impression in a cup of coffee last year was reliever Omar Lopez. The 26 year old has excellent control, and does a good job keeping the ball in the park. In 3 appearances at the big league level last year, Lopez posted a 1.93 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and notched 2 saves.