Friday afternoon was my first opportunity to really get a good look at potential Detroit Tigers closer Bruce Rondon in action. I saw him pitch in the Futures Game last year but this was different.
Bruce Rondon
The 22-year old rookie-to-be has been all but anointed the closer for the 2013 Detroit Tigers. His calling card is his triple digits fastball and his ability to work in his off-speed stuff. Control issues have been his bugaboo.
His 1-inning stint went like this:
- Single
- Strikeout on a decent slider down and in off the plate
- A quick popout to 3rd base
- During a drawn out walk to Ruben Tejada the baserunner stole 2nd on him and Brayan Pena’s terrible throw and then advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch
- Got in trouble against David Wright and had to come with a fastball down the middle, which was mid 90’s and rifled to left by Wright for an RBI single
- Quick groundout to 2nd base off the bat of Ike Davis
A few things became quickly obvious during this outing. First off, he displayed no command of his breaking pitches. He threw several sliders and changeups and missed with all of the ones that I saw. He does throw hard but the biggest reading on the stadium gun I saw was 99. He was more often around 95-97 with a heater that he often missed high and to his right, the sign of not following through with his lead shoulder.
On top of that, his demeanor didn’t seem overly impressive. I’m ok with a lack of intensity if he’s mowing people down but he wasn’t and he seemed to be trying hard to gather himself. He took several big, deep breaths in between pitches while working at a Valverdian-pace. The deep breaths served a purpose and are a good sign from a young player trying to reel it in, but they offered less conviction than the master deep-breather – Phil Coke.
So what do we take away from an outing on March 1? Mainly that he has quite a bit of work to do between now and Opening Day. In one month he must find the electric arsenal that I was expecting to see, but didn’t. He must find a way to work at least one of his breaking balls into the strike zone with regularity.
As of now, I think he is still the frontrunner for the closing gig in Detroit, but my faith was shaken by what I saw today. Was this a guy I foresee getting big outs in October? No, certainly not. Can he grow into that player? Yes. Do the Tigers want to give him the keys and be at the mercy of a shaky wheel and 2-footed driver? We’ll see.
It’s only March 1st.
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About Joe White
Love the comments guys. I think the Tigers see Rondon as the bullpen option with the biggest upside. If they roll with him and he fails it will be obvious pretty quickly and they can adjust with several other options that they have without sacrificing too many wins.
It’s unfortunate for him that fans are expecting his third outing of spring training to look like a midseason appearance. He looks rusty and his mechanics appear off. He is choking his slider and not finishing his change up. He can fix these things. That’s what spring training is all about. Lots of time left. Anxious to see it play out.
To get to the 2013 roster this kid would look good on a team that is building and not desperate.
So why do the Tiger (brass, coaches, front office) treat the closer spot like it is? The answer to
‘ who will be the Tigers’ 2013 closer ‘ ? You , Joe , mention his name and the reason why Phil Coke should be the Tigers’ closer for 2013. The Tigers’ have pitching most teams would die for.
It sounds like they’re afraid of screwing up. The backup plans are endless.The chosen one should know soon. Springing it on him at the 11th hour could spell disaster. It’s a sign of indecision ,
and a lack of confidence.
Nice little piece, Joe. I’m really excited to get up to minute bees on my favorite sports team
This article scared the hell out of me. The Tigers cannot afford to have closer issues. If Rondon is not ready then who gets the job. I can’t haandle another closer like Valverde.
For a team thats trying to win NOW the Tigers are taking a huge risk depending on a rookie with no major league experience
Have not heard many glowing reports yet. Hope he finds his groove.
I’ve heard he has a hesitation during his delivery. What do you make of that? I think the Blue Jays had commented on it and said it would give hitters problems.
Yeah, I read that too but didn’t see a ton of it on the mound. His motion of getting into the set is pretty herky-jerky, very much like Valverde actually.
I’m sorry but I just don’t see a young guy like this being Detroit’s closer.