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Tribe Poll: Which pitcher deserves the final spot in the bullpen?

Thanks to all of those who responded to the last poll question, ‘What should the Indians do with C.C. Sabathia?’ It was an interesting battle, with 41% of the readers voting for the Indians to deal Sabathia now, while 35% of the readers voted to hang on to him, go for the series, and try and sign him after the season is over. The early trend was to deal him, with signing him after the season catching fire as the spring wore on. It should be an interesting season, as Sabathia pitches in a contract year.

Onto our next Tribe Poll Question: Which Indians’ reliever deserves the seventh and final spot in the bullpen?

The three pitchers battling for the slot are believed to be Scott Elarton, Jorge Julio and Tom Mastny. All three pitchers bring something unique to the Tribe pen, but have their question marks as well.

Here’s a look at the three challengers:

Scott Elarton: Tribe fans have come to know Elarton as a starter, which he’s been his whole career. Elarton was a promising prospect with the Houston Astros early in his career. He won 17 games in 2000, after having some rotator cuff issues during the offseason. These injuries would plague him on and off during his career. In 2001, Elarton struggled pitching, and with injuries, and was dealt the the Colorado Rockies. Elarton would miss all of 2002 due to shoulder surgery, and struggled staying in the bigs with Colorado in 2003. After starting the year 0-6 in 2004, Colorado released him. Cleveland signed him, and after the All-Star break, Elarton pitched his best ball since winning 17 games in 2000. It was enough to earn him a spot on the Tribe’s rotation in 2006. Other than a rough month of July, Elarton was one of the best #5 starters in the game that year, and earned him a big contract with the Kansas City Royals. He struggled in 2006, ultimately having shoulder surgery in early August, ending his year. In 2007, Elarton started the year on the DL again, then promptly go lit up when he returned to the Royals, and was released in July. He signed late in the year with Cleveland, to a minor league deal, and was brought in as a non-roster invitee this season.

Elarton’s best pitch is his fastball. In his heyday, his heat could reach up to the mid-90’s. After all the arm surgeries, Elarton’s fastball is a consistent visitor to the low-90’s, with an occasional mid-90’s thrown in there for good measure…but not often enough to be considered a given. He also throws a changeup, cutter, curve and slider, but none are considered out pitches at this point.

Elarton is intriguing, because he would be the only long-reliever of the trio fighting for the slot. He’s also been solid this spring, rolling out a 1.46 ERA in 12+ innings. It could make him the favorite of the three, as Elarton could be brought in for a spot start, or a long-relief spot in the early part of the season, played in cold weather locations.

Tom Mastny: Mastny has long been one-to-watch in the Tribe bullpen. In 2005, Mastny was brought to the Indians in a deal with Toronto for John McDonald. At the time, Mastny was a starter. He was the bullpen, and quickly moved from A to AAA over the next year and a half, because of the move. Mastny found himself with the big club in 2006, after the Indians dealt closer Bob Wickman to the Atlanta Braves. It wasn’t a much thought about move, as Fausto Carmona was handed the role of closer. Mastny was believed to be a fill in.

Then Carmona folded like a house of cards as the closer. On August 19th, Mastny came in and pitched the final two innings, not giving up a run, and earning his first save. The next day, Shapiro and Wedge confirmed that Mastny was now being given a shot at the closers role. Mastny would go on to save his next four save opportunities, and it seemed that he had the job locked up. Unfortunately, in his final four appearances, Mastny gave up 8 runs in three innings. It wasn’t pretty.

Mastny made the club again in 2007, and began the year with a solid first two months. On May 31, Mastny was 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA. He really struggled over the next two months, seeing his ERA balloon up to a high of 5.26. He never seemed to get it together after that, and then Eric Wedge really stopped using him. Over the final two months, Mastny had only 12 appearances. He seemed to struggle with control at times, and many didn’t see Mastny in the Tribe’s future plans. Then came the playoffs.

Mastny was stellar against the Boston Red Sox, and you couldn’t say that about many Tribe pitchers. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks, and no earned runs during his three outings. In one series, Mastny had worked his way back into the Tribe’s bullpen plans.

Mastny has a good overhand curve. He is good at locating his fastball, but has an even better two-seamer that can make you look foolish when he has control. He also has been experimenting with a cutter/slider combo that could really be effective if he ever gains command of it. Mastny has a save this spring, but also has a lofty 6.75 ERA after giving up 9 runs over 12 innings. The ERA is inflated, however, on a couple of bad spring outings. The key has been his control, and he’s only walked 2, with 12 K’s. Mastny is the guy that always makes you scratch your head. He doesn’t overpower, but knows how to pitch. He’s still learning how to be a major leaguer. He’s the sleeper pick here.

Jorge Julio: Jorge Julio is the one pitcher of the three that could be a bullpen changer. Of the three challengers, Julio is the one that has been a major factor as a closer in the past. Julio burst on the scene in 2002 for the Baltimore Orioles, rolling out 25 saves and a 1.99 ERA that year. He finished the season third in the rookie of the year voting. The next season, Julio had 36 saves, but struggled with control, rolling out a 4.38 ERA. The Orioles were far from enamored with Julio, and began grooming B.J. Ryan as their future closer. Julio began the 2004 season as the Orioles closer, but found Ryan stealing his save opps in September. Julio had lost his job as closer.

He would bounce from the Mets to Arizona to Florida to Colorado over the next two years. He had 15 saves with Arizona, but again, lost his job as closer because of control issues. Cleveland signed him this offseason specifically for a shot at the last spot in the Tribe pen.

Julio brings the most raw talent to the equation. He has a four-seam fastball that he can throw regularly between 95-99 MPH. He occasionally hits triple-digits. He also has a slider in the upper 80’s, and a change-up. His main issues have been overthrowing his fastball, and his release point for his pitches. Every one of his pitching coaches have impressed upon Julio that he doesn’t have to throw through steel with every pitch. He has struggled a bit with control this spring, with 7 walks, but has a sparkling 1.8 ERA over 10 innings. Julio did have some blister issues this spring, but after pitching two innings of shut out ball in his last outing, it shouldn’t be an issue.

So which factor is most important to the Tribe needs this year? Do the Indians need the long-reliever in Elarton, the mysterious upside of Tom Mastny, or the power arm of Jorge Julio?

Let us know here at Tribe Report what you think, by taking part in our Tribe Poll!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm and is filed under James Pete, Tom Mastny, Scott Elarton, Tribe Poll, C.C. Sabathia, Jorge Julio, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.