Year after year, fans seem to really dig the long ball and completely forget about the players who will pitch almost half of the game, the bullpen.
The bullpen is home to some and a foot into the door (AKA starting rotation) to others. As for the 2010 Seattle Mariners, they have three stud closer prospects in the same bullpen.
If I remember correctly, the last team to have only two stud closers was the 1998 New York Yankees, and one wasn't even a prospect. They were John Wetteland and Mariano Rivera.
But the 2010 Seattle Mariners still have three in Brandon Morrow, Joshua Fields and Shawn Kelley.
2008 Stats
Brandon Morrow: 1.47 ERA, 10 saves and 47 strikeouts in only 32.2 innings (as a reliever)
Joshua Fields: 2.27 ERA, 16 saves and 56 strikeouts in 31.2 innings (for the Georgia Bulldogs)
Shawn Kelley: 1.88 ERA, 15 saves and 68 strikeouts in 62.1 innings (minor leagues)
Have you ever seen such a dominant bullpen? It is dominance from top to bottom and they are all still young, leaving so much time for improvements.
Most likely, Shawn Kelley and Joshua Fields will actually get pulled up into the MLB around July. That's my prediction, but they may still wait until later.
Now, there is a chance that Kelley will make the 25-man roster since Wakamatsu wants a seven-man bullpen.
Brandon Morrow
Mark Lowe
Miguel Batista
Roy Corcoran
David Aardsma
*6th man in rotation*
*Shawn Kelley or Jose Lugo are top two choices
If the Mariners were to drop Miguel Batista, as rumored, they could use the sixth man in the rotation as a long reliever, and then they could bring up Jose Lugo and Shawn Kelley.
Although it's not up to us to decide who makes the roster, what do you think?
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