Forecasting The 2014 Bullpen

By Zachary Morgan | AstrosBias.com

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     The move to overhaul the bullpen was one that was sorely needed and will do wonders for blood pressures across the city of Houston. The 2013 Astros bullpen etched their names into the wrong portion of the history books after last years showing that saw them post a 14-40 record, and a 52% save percentage. Abysmal, maddening, deplorable, frightening, horrendous, mortifying, and dreadful are all adjectives that would serve aptly in describing the 2013 relief core in its entirety. That however, much to the satisfaction of Astros faithful, is subject to change. The additions of Chad Qualls, Matt Albers, and Jesse Crain improves the 'pen by leaps and bounds, and the acquisitions of Anthony Bass, Darin Downs, Raul Valdes, Collin McHugh, as well as the maturation of Kevin Chapman, Josh Zeid, Josh Fields, and Chia-Jen Lo on the right end of the spectrum can only forebode well. Below, I will toss together eight or nine names that configure to contend for a spot in the 'pen, and give Steamer and Oliver's projections as to how their years will transpire to get an idea of what we can expect this year.

Steamer:

Pitcher	W-L	IP	ERA	K/9	BB/9	FIP
Chad Qualls	3-2	55	3.88	6.53	3.06	3.79
Matt Albers	3-2	55	3.94	6.65	3.49	3.88
Jesse Crain	4-2	65	3.09	9.94	3.51	3.58
Josh Fields	4-3	65	3.78	8.81	4.09	4.10
Josh Zeid	2-2	35	4.04	8.26	4.40	4.07
KevinChapman	2-2	45	4.51	8.28	5.45	4.56
Darin Downs	1-0	10	3.86	7.79	3.29	3.93
Chia-Jen Lo	2-2	40	3.93	8.12	3.95	4.13
Totals	21-15	370	3.87	8.05	3.91	4.01

Oliver:

Pitcher	W-L	IP	ERA	K/9	BB/9	FIP
Chad Qualls	3-3	61	3.82	6.62	2.79	4.09
Matt Albers	4-3	62	3.47	7.09	3.33	3.98
Jesse Crain	3-2	47	3.08	10.58	3.27	3.03
Josh Fields	3-3	52	4.00	8.88	4.53	4.06
Josh Zeid	3-5	69	4.98	8.65	4.59	5.06
KevinChapman	3-4	62	4.51	9.32	5.83	4.28
Darin Downs	4-4	72	3.86	8.09	3.11	3.49
Chia-Jen Lo	1-2	27	4.30	7.61	3.64	4.59
Totals	24-26	452	4.00	8.36	3.89	4.07

Both the Oliver and Steamer projections aren't too far off from what I would expect, although I do believe both projections are a bit down on Qualls; Oliver is a bit too down on Zeid, and Steamer may be too high on Fields. At the end of the day, I would take either projection as they figure to render a major league average bullpen. Although these signings are no big splashes, It's good to see the organization dip into the free agent pool to make fiscally wise decisions for the betterment of the club. Spring can't come soon enough!