Seems like most every team has an arsenal of power arms in their bullpens ... often times they are fellas most fans havenāt heard much about. This yearās Rays used a dominating crew of relievers to drive their way to the World Series and the 2020 champion Dodgers also featured a bevy of powerful relievers ...
Since Iāve got a bit of time on my hands I thought Iād search the minor league systems of each of the other 29 clubs to identify minor league free agents that might fit with the Phillies as part of a power pen arsenal, with both immediate needs and short term minor league development in mind ... if ya missed the previous articles in this series here are links :
... hereās a look at the National League Western Division. This is the last of the series ... just some amateur scouting via research on the internet ... for whatever itās worth š¤Ŗ
Dodgers
Reymin Gudian - 28 year old LHP ( 6ā4ā 205 ) - originally signed by Houston Astros on 5/29/2010. Signed by Dodgers as a free agent in December of 2019. Heās appeared in 32 major league games with the Astros ( 2017-2019) with 26 Kās and 12 BB in 24.2 IP and a very high ERA. He was suspended for disciplinary reasons by Astros in the minor leagues after fighting with a teammate over chiding about being unable to throw strikes in a game.
I found this observation report on him ... āGuduan throws extremely hard (normally sitting in the 95-97 MPH range). Heās been clocked as high as 100 in the minors. The fastball has movement and he combines it with an impressive slider. Unfortunately, Guduanās pitches have so much movement and velocity that he has trouble controlling them. Despite all the hard stuff, heās had consistent difficulty keeping right-handed batters from hitting him hard, probably due to lack of an effective off-speed pitch. His control has improved from terrible to below average over the last two years and further improvement could make him dominant. That hasnāt happened yet, though. No one will give up on him quickly due to his arm strength.ā
Anthony Vizcaya - 27 year old RHP ( 6ā0ā 220 ) - sat in the 94-96 range with Twins AA team ( Pensacola ) in 2019 with a stellar 0.78 ERA in 26 games ( 48 Kās in 46 IP ... 20 BB ) ... also showed good secondaries ( changeup and slider ). Was signed by Dodgers 1/7/2020 ... originally signed by Cleveland Indians in 2012 - played independent baseball after being released following the 2014 season - signed by Twins in 2019. Heās a diehard ... gotta like that šš¤
Giants
Rodolfo Martinez 26 year old RHP ( 6ā2ā 200 ) - āmade a head turning appearing in 2020 spring training as a minor league game day call-up - Martinez entered the game and touched 100 miles per hour on the stadium radar gun. The unheralded reliever allowed a two-out ninth inning single, but reached back for some high-90s heat to strike out former Giants infielder Alen Hanson and end the game.ā - SF Chronicle
āFB has been clocked as high as 103 mph, Martinez has a big league fastball that has the potential to be a dominant pitch, but he hasnāt learned to command it effectively within the strike zoneā.
Was signed by the Giants as an amateur free agent 9/16/2013 ... reached the AA level three years later. From what Iāve read heās an extreme power arm that needs to learn how to pitch ... Iām a believer that can be taught š¤
Diamondbacks - I couldnāt find any ābig arm āfree agent pitchers from their system this year
Rockies :
Tim Collins - 31 year old LHP ( 5ā7ā 166 ) - he was signed by the Rockies 11/19 and is a veteran hurler whoās pitched six years in the major leagues with the Royals, Nationals and Cubs ... has made 275 appearances with a 3.60 ERA in 242 IP. Collins garners good speed on his FB (averaging 93ā94Ā mph, tops out at 97Ā mph) and also features two off-speed pitches, a curve at 74ā77Ā mph and a change-up at 83ā85Ā mph. An big league experienced lefty that may fly under the radar š¤Ø.
Padres
Hansel Rodriguez - 23 year old RHP ( 6ā2ā 170 ) - originally signed by the Blue Jays on 1/6/14 as a 16 year old he was traded to San Diego on 7/26/16 for Melvin Upton. A starter in the Blue Jays system he was converted to a reliever by the Padres and has fared much better ... 2.92 ERA in 19 games ( 24.2 IP ) with 32 Kās/ 7 BB at the High A level in 2019. FB generally sits 94-96 but flashes 97-98 ... slider is best secondary offering ... he was once considered as being a top 20 prospect in the Jays system ... might be worth a look as word is heās got a loose arm that with some mechanical tweaks could push him consistently into the upper 90ās ... is just 23 years old.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ā¾ļø
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