The Pitching Staff

Today we are going to take a look at which pitchers will be with us next season, who may be here, who may be gone and who might be a new face. The pitching staff, as you all know, has been a major weakness for the Fish the past two seasons and matthewm3 is looking to change that this offseason if he can. He is looking to hopefully find a solid starter in free agency or possibly bring someone in with a trade. Matthewm3 has been known to be 'trigger-shy' when it comes to 'pulling-the-trigger' on a deal, so don't get your hopes up on seeing a blockbuster trade over the winter.

First I would like to take a look at the pitchers we know will be returning next season. (Unless our GM does something stupid, which has happened before...)

STARTING PITCHERS
Cory Brooks - Did not perform as well has he did his rookie season but has shown some promise at times. Look for him to finally end a season with more wins than losses.

Kirk Cooper - Pitched in more games and innings than his rookie season, but did not progress in the way management thought he would. He has the stuff to be a good pitcher in this league, but will he make that transition?

Rodrigo Unamuno - Here is a guy who is great to have around. He doesn't have the skills of an ace, but he can keep you in a game. He has struggled at times but should continue to be a strong middle of the rotation pitcher for a few more seasons.

Willie Tatis - Came to Philly via a trade and underperformed. He went 4-4 in 12 games to end the season 15-9 overall. With a fresh start next year, he should reproduce those numbers all for Philadelphia this time.

RELIEF PITCHERS
Brian McDonald - Did an excellent job in relief work. Expect him to be the number one long relief pitcher next season.

Francis Murray - Played good enough baseball to win himself a roster sport next season. He was acquired in a trade with Cleveland and actually performed better than expected.

Now that we know who is coming back for sure, let's take a look the guys who may or may not be returning next season.

THE MAYBE'S
Tony Byrne - Philadelphia management would love to have him back and they just might depending on how arbitration goes.

Lucas Banks - Another arbitration guy who Philly wouldn't mind keeping around.

Reggie Rapp - The teams closer and also another guy in arbitration. Management will do what they can but there are no guarantee's he'll be back.

Benji Slaughter - This guy is going to be released. Everyone in Philadelphia should be happy when he is gone. In his 3 seasons here he has gone 4-15 with a 6.95 ERA and has lost 15 of his 41 save opportunities.

Glenn Gibbons - Management loves this guy but his injuries kill his production. The team has an option for this season. It is unknown whether they will take it or not.

Bryan Jennings - Has a team option also, which can be bought out for 1.2 million.

Brooks Kingman - Mutual option. You can say goodbye to Kingman as the team is going to pay the 1.4 million to let him go.

Turk Hillenbrand - He is a 39 yr old soon to be Free Agent and you can expect it to stay that way. He is reportedly asking for 1.6 million for next season.

Finally we will look at the Minor Leaguers who are hoping to get their shot in 2009.

John Sullivan - Great kid, great pitcher. Hello to the future of the Flying Fish. Don't get to excited just yet, he may be spending some of next season in AAA, but it is very likely he will be in the ML next season.

Kennie Moss - A fantastic prospect who will continue his career in AAA this season. He will be a Major Leaguer though so keep your eye on him.

Robert Weston - He might just make the move to the ML before the first pitch.

Jesse Holliday - This kid is good and looks to bring his nasty knuckleball to the Fish bullpen in the very near future.

Louis Stoddard - Will spend atleast one more season in AAA.

Jamey Stieb - This kid can be brought up but probably won't be unless he is needed. Don't be surprised though if you do see this kid in a ML uniform sometime next year.

Thats it for the Pitching Staff report. Look for my Position Player outlook soon! Later Fish fans!
-Kelly Denner