If you listen to the likes of Bonnes and Gleeman (which I do)' date=' Jeff Gray is the relief pitcher equivalent of Drew Butera. That being said, I'd like to get some insight on some relief pitcher prospects we have in the system. The first two that come to mind are Deolis Guerra and Cole DeVries.

 

Guerra - Just how hard does this guy throw? He's been downright nasty so far in AA. He's had a cup of coffee with Rochester, as a starter I believe. How much longer does he have to keep up this pace to get up to AAA? Considering he's on the 40 man roster, and the last remaining piece of Billy Boner #2, isn't about time we see if we have a bona fide relief prospect on our hands?

 

DeVries - He's been starting at Rochester, but has been a reliever in the past. Between last season and this season, he has had a solid strikeout to walk ratio, which is the extent of my stat-geekyness. Of course he's not on the 40-man, but he seems like a legitmate long relief prospect, or maybe Pat Neshek 2.0 (without the funky motion and a diploma from a douchier Minnesota high school:p).

 

Thoughts?[/quote']

I'd rank our relief prospects as follows:

however i get the feeling like Casey Fein (AAA) will get the first chance at a promotion if Maloney or Gray gets released/ demoted.

1. Deolis Guerra

2. Carlos Gutierrez (struggling)

3. Matt Hauser

4. A.J. Achter

5. Anthony Slama (still think he'll get 1 more shot)

6. Steve Hirshfeld/ Cole DeVries - both start and relieve

7. Edgar Ibbarra

8. Tyler Robertson

9. Corey Williams -not sure he could be starter

10. Dakota Watts, Bruce Pugh