Camp Update: Remaining Pitching Groups

On Tuesday I touched on the groups the position players are working in and yesterday I touched on the Akron pitching groups. Today I have the rest of the pitching groups with some comments on how I think the rosters will shake out.

(EDIT: These are the actual groups that are working out in camp at the moment)

KINSTON

Group 2A: Eric Berger, Kelvin De La Cruz, Kyle Landis, Joey Mahalic, Anillins Martinez, Ryan Miller, Zach Putnam, Garret Rieck, P.J. Zocchi,

Group 2B: Rob Bryson, Garrison Campfield, Dallas Cawiezell, Santo Frias, Jonathan Holt, Josh Judy, Chen-Chang Lee, Ryan Morris, Vinnie Pestano, Bryce Stowell, Heath Taylor

Top Rotation Candidates: Berger, De La Cruz, Mahalic, Putnam, Stowell, Morris, Miller, Lee and Frias
Top Bullpen Candidates: Landis, Campfield, Cawiezell, Holt, Judy, Pestano, Taylor
On The Bubble: Martinez, Rieck, Zocchi

I don't know what to make of these two groups of pitchers that are essentially the "Kinston" group. Both groups have some bubble guys in them, and both groups also have guys that are locks to be in the starting rotation or bullpen. Group 2A appears to have most of the locks to open in the Kinston starting rotation, though there are some candidates for the rotation in Group 2B. Group 2B is loaded with a lot of guys expected to be in the bullpen at Kinston.

There really are very few locks as to who makes the Kinston pitching staff out of spring as there is depth in both the rotation and bullpen, and with so much talent really anyone could make the pitching staff. The three for sure locks in the rotation should be De La Cruz, Berger and Mahalic, with Miller, Morris, Putnam, Stowell, and Frias vying for the last two spots. Those who do not make the starting rotation should still be in the organization and either pitch out of the bullpen in Kinston or open in the Lake County rotation (this could happen to one or more of Putnam, Stowell, and Frias). This is definitely one of the more interesting camp battles to watch this spring, to see who of these pitchers lands in the Kinston five-man rotation and what happens with the guys who don’t.

The bullpen locks should be Landis, Holt, and Judy. The rest of the guys will all be fighting for a spot in the bullpen, which after you include Mike Pontius and maybe a Paolo Espino once he reports to camp, leaves about ten guys fighting for two bullpen spots. Guys like Lee, Cawiezell, Campfield, and Taylor appear to have the inside track at a bullpen job, while guys like Martinez, Rieck, Zocchi may be on the outside looking in. Pestano is not a lock because he stands a good chance to open in Akron, but if not he is a pretty good bet to be in the Kinston bullpen. Bryson is not a lock because he is rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery and will not be available until sometime in June most likely.

LAKE COUNTY

Group 3A: Eddy Burns, Brian Grening, Matt Langwell, Mike McGuire, Wilfredo Ramirez, David Roberts, Steve Smith, Jose Urena, Russell Young

Group 3B: Clayton Cook, Brad Hinkle, T.J. House, Chris Jones, T.J. McFarland, Kaimi Mead, Alexander Perez, Marty Popham, Danny Salazar, Travis Turek

Top Rotation Candidates: Cook, Hinkle, House, Jones, McFarland, Perez, Popham, Salazar
Top Bullpen Candidates: Burns, Grening, McGuire, Ramirez, Roberts, Urena, Young
On the Bubble: Langwell, Mead, Smith, Turek

Now, these two groups are more distinctive as it appears Group 3A has the candidates for the bullpen and Group 3B has the candidates for the rotation. Again, like with the Kinston group where there could be trickle down from the Akron groups into the Kinston roster, the same could happen here with some of the guys in the Kinston grouping trickling down into these groups as well as camp goes on and when it ends.

In regard to the rotation or bullpen, there are no locks as these guys could all conceivably open in Lake County or extended spring training. I do think that 2008 high school draft picks Cook and House have almost no shot at making the Lake County roster as they more than likely will remain in extended spring training to work on developing a routine and get ready for short season ball which starts up in June. If the likes of Putnam, Stowell and Frias do not end up in Lake County, my best guess at what the five man rotation will look like at the start of the season would have to be Salazar, Perez, Jones, and McFarland as the front four of the rotation, with Hinkle and Popham battling out for the final spot. Of course, I still think at least one of the Putnam/Stowell/Frias trio ends up in the Lake County rotation to start the season, so we’ll see how that shakes out.

I don't think Mead or Turek have much of a shot at all to land in the rotation, but they could end up in the bullpen or remain in extended spring training. They also could be two guys who get cut, which unfortunately will happen to someone this spring (actually a lot of “someone's” as 10-20 guys and maybe more will likely be released).

The bullpen situation in Lake County is almost impossible to figure out. Any of 15-20 guys in the Kinston, Lake County and Mahoning Valley (extended spring training) groups could end up in the seven-man bullpen. My best guess at this point would have to be that Roberts is almost definitely a lock because of his high standing in last year’s draft. But everyone else is a crapshoot. It’s going to be a lot of fun to see how the pitching staffs at Kinston and Lake County shake out. Well, fun for me and the fans, but stressful for the players.

MAHONING VALLEY
(Extended Spring Training)

Group 4A: Jose Flores, Jose Jimenez, Carlos Moncrief, Denny Montero, Alexander Morales, Jacob Reust, Franklin Soto

Group 4B: Elvis Araujo, Jose Campos, Fernando Flores, Guido Fonseca, Trey Haley, Candido Jesus, Francisco Jimenez, Juan Diaz Moreno, Gregorio Rosario, Francisco Valera

Almost all of these guys should remain in camp after the full season guys leave and will participate in extended spring training from April to June until short season leagues start. Some of these guys could also be roster casualties as well. But in any case, most of the extended spring training guys will be Latin players that are coming stateside for the first time and need an environment to get comfortable in while they adapt to the change, and also some of the other players who are just so young still and need time to grow into their bodies, mature, and learn to develop a routine. One guy in this list who could make the Lake County roster is Moncrief, but he is a raw talent and needs some work which is why it makes sense to start him in extended.

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