Scouting the "Sally" Relievers

Yeliar Castro, Atlanta Braves: While Castro offers little in terms of projection, he can already dial the fastball up to 94 MPH. The pitch lacks movement and his command is borderline, but the velocity is hard to find at this level. Castro also flashed a 78 MPH curveball with big break 12-6 break. However, he struggled to throw the pitch for strikes and may have to sacrifice some of that break to better harness control of the pitch.

Rhiner Cruz, New York Mets: With a 3/4 short arm delivery, Cruz relies on deception and a fastball he can work up to 92 MPH. His slider is fringe average and he uses the pitch to keep hitters off-balanced. Control is a major concern with Cruz as I have seen him perform as a shutdown closer one evening and be pulled after twelve consecutive balls in another. A 1.92 ERA is quite impressive even for a 23-year old, but a closer look shows a 3.74 FIP and poor peripherals.

Daniel Kapala, New York Yankees: Another reliever with the ability to work the fastball up to 94 MPH, he spent his entire appearance in the 91-94 MPH range. While his 2.64 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 3.53 FIP are all impressive, he is awfully old for the level and only managed a 4.73 K/9 which brings his secondary offerings into question. He had a tendency to tip his 81-84 MPH slider as he slowed up his arm action. Kapala also may have mixed in a curveball as well.

Henry Villar, Houston Astros: The best relief pitcher I had the opportunity to see this season, Villar's 89-91 MPH fastball had significant run away from right-handed hitters. In mixing locations, he also showed the ability to run the fastball in on the hands of righties to keep them honest. He also flashed a 2-seam fastball in the 85-86 range as a chance of pace. Villar's slider was also a weapon as the 81-83 MPH offering looked to have a foot or more of run away from right-handed hitters. At 22, Villar is no spring chicken, but his 6.06 K/BB ratio and 10.90 K/9 were both extremely impressive.