Tommy Hunter To The ‘Pen

The Texas Rangers have made an interesting decision in attempt to help their bullpen, they’ll be moving injured starter Tommy Hunter out of the rotation. Manager Ron Washington says the move is exploratory right now, which makes sense since it is taking place in the minor leagues.

Right-hander Tommy Hunter, currently on a rehab assignment, will pitch one inning in relief tonight for Triple A Round Rock as the Rangers check to see if he could be an effective option out of the bullpen.

“It’s to see if he can do it, see how he recovers,” manager Ron Washington said. “That’s not in stone.”

Washington cautioned to not make too much of the move, but the Rangers have always tried to put together the best 12 pitchers on their roster — even if that means moving a starter to the bullpen. Hunter, who hasn’t pitched this season because of a groin injury, has been a starter his entire big-league career but worked in relief in college at Alabama. (Jeff Wilson, Star-Telegram)

It will be interesting to see how this move works out as Hunter isn’t the type of player who you would think would have success in a bullpen. He’s not overpowering and doesn’t possess a dominating, lights out pitch. He’s got a good repertoire but it’s the kind of stuff you’d expect from a starter.

His fastball is sits in the low 90′s, usually the 89-92 range. He has a curveball that is usually in the mid-70′s and breaks more laterally, then a 12-6 type. His best pitch is his cut fastball, which breaks in on lefties and sinks pretty well. Now don’t start thinking Mariano Rivera since he’ll be in the bullpen. Hunter’s cutter is slightly slower then his fastball, which means its effective but not something he can live off of. He also has a fourth pitch, a change-up that sits in the low-80′s.

As you see that isn’t the stuff you’d expect out of a relief pitcher unless you consider Hunter to be your long-relief guy. The guy who couldn’t quite cut it in the rotation and personally, I don’t think he’s that kind of guy.

Hunter has had two full seasons in the rotation and was quickly becoming a productive starter. In 2010, he easily pitched well enough to be considered a middle of the rotation guy. Not the back-end borderline long reliever. Last season, he went 13-4 with a 3.78 ERA over 22 starts and 128 innings.

So why would Washington consider such a move? Well none of his starters deserve to be bumped, which for Hunter is a downside of starting the season on the disabled list and then struggling during your rehab assignments.

Hunter started the year on the DL with a groin injury and has suffered numerous setbacks over the past three months. What’s even worse is when he does get on the mound the minor league hitters light him up. During his last two starts for Triple-A Round Rock he’s pitched 9 and 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs.

So yea, I can see why Washington will see what happens when Tommy hits the ‘pen. He’s slated to throw an inning tonight for Round Rock. Who knows maybe something like this could just give him his confidence back…

Only time will tell if this bullpen stint is permanent or temporary.

Don’t forget we’re on Facebook now, so follow us there as well!

Like what you read? Then follow us on TWITTER for more updates

Tags: MLB, Texas Rangers, Tommy Hunter