Merkin Valdez
From GiantFan9 under Creative Commons license.
Closer: Brian Wilson
- Thanks to his shiny outings last September, Bochy guaranteed Wilson the closer's spot this season. Wilson is an ideal closer: confident in his stuff and unafraid of any tight situation. In a KNBR interview, he said that he'll mainly use his fastball "everywhere" and his cutter, which he described as a modified Robb Nen slider.
7th inning: Tyler Walker/Brad Hennessey
- After a year of rehab from Tommy John surgery, Walker bounced back and pitched effectively as a late-relief man. If he can maintain his September form, then the Giants' late pitching will be a great asset.
- Brad Hennessey pitched valiantly as the interim closer after Armando Benitez left. He didn't have strikeout stuff normally associated with a closer, but he got by and converted a string of 14 consecutive save chances in a row.
- I highly doubt that Walker and Hennessey will have any competition from other guys, unless someone has a lights-out spring. Bochy will probably flip-flop Walker and Hennessey between set-up and 7th inning a few times this season because both guys are interchangeable in that regard.
In: Vinnie Chulk
- Chulk went down early last season to a rare circulatory disease, but he's back healthy this spring. He's likely assured a bullpen spot because he has decent stuff. Just one thing, though: don't ever, ever, ever let him pitch to Scott Hairston. Ever.
- He has no options left and the Giants have put in a lot of time with him, so I suspect he'll get a great chance to make the team.
- Threets doesn't have any options left and he's a hardthrowing lefty. He looked ready in AAA last season and earned a call-up in September.
- The Giants drafted him from the Boston Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft, so he has to be on the 25-man roster else he goes back to Boston. As per the Giants' philosophy, there can never be too many lefties in a bullpen. He'll also be given the best chances to make the team. Bonus factor: Capellan struck-out 71 while walking only 11 in 75.2 innings last season in low-A with Boston.
- He's signed to a minor-league deal, so no worries if he doesn't make the team out of Spring Training. Low-risk, high-reward.
- Ditto.
- Ditto.
- Kline shed 40 pounds during the offseason, so he must have an inkling of what his current situation is. Capellan can basically do the same thing as Kline but in a younger fashion.
- Giants fans heralded Messenger as "the-guy-in-exchange-for-Benitez." He showed flashes of nasty stuff when he first pitched for the Giants, but fell off a cliff when the season wound down. His stuff declined after he punched a water cooler and went on the DL for several weeks. There are also some murmurs of negative body language, so Messenger really has to impress if he wants in on the team.
- Bochy recently stated that Sanchez will stretch his arm and will be geared as a starter. After last season's confusion about Sanchez's place as a starter or reliever, it would be nice to see that he won't go through another episode of Who Am I. Correia is favored to win the 5th starter spot, so Sanchez can go to the AAA rotation.
- Misch will also stretch his arm, according to Bochy. Misch has a pretty wide arsenal at his disposal and could be an effective weapon in 2-3 innings of relief or even as a spot starter. He has options to go to the AAA rotation.
- Talk about an oxymoron: a lefty specialist who shuts down righties but gets shellacked by lefties. Taschner had an inconsistent 2007 season, so if he doesn’t make the team, he has one option left to Fresno.
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