At least Kyle Weiland will always be able to say he was part of the biggest collapse in baseball history. OK, that may not be how he prefers to describe his time in Boston, but it will be quite some time before the Fenway Faithful forget how the events of last September unfolded. Weiland, who was shipped to Houston last Wednesday along with Jed Lowrie for reliever Mark Melancon, started only five games for Boston’s major league club, but three of them came during a crucial stretch in September. He never recorded a win and compiled a 7.66 ERA.
It’s hard to place too much blame on the kid though. Remember, he’s only 25 and was thrust into a situation he certainly did not intend on being thrust into when the Sox’ rotation began to thin out. When I wrote about Weiland back in September, I stated that Weiland’s upside was as a late inning reliever, perhaps the seventh-inning man for Boston in two years or so. Even if he developed faster than expected, Weiland had no place in the starting rotation, and that’s with the rotation having a few question marks to begin with. Of course, with Daniel Bard presumably moving to the back end of the rotation (and I’m skeptical of this lasting), a spot in the bullpen opens up. Many speculated that Weiland might have played a part in the pen next year. If that’s the case, then the trade for Melancon makes even more sense. Essentially, the Sox traded Weiland for what Weiland would have become at his highest upside. Don’t shed tears over his departure. (And for the record, I’m getting a little tired of reading “If Lowrie could just stay healthy he projects well over a full season.” That’s a big if.)
Weiland doesn’t leave the team without a bit of a mark though, and I’m not referring to the 0-3 record or the 7.66 ERA, although those will certainly be there too. This mark comes in the form of his Spring Training roommate, twenty-five year old Alex Wilson. Taken in the second round of the 2009 draft, Wilson is now in the starting rotation for the Pawtucket Sox.
The righty throws a mid-90’s fastball and features a decent slider. He also has a changeup, but it is not strong enough to be considered an out pitch yet, he throws it mostly at the beginning of counts to get ahead of hitters. He has progressed through the minors, fairly quickly, making it to Pawtucket in only his third year in the system. He struggled when he was promoted to AA Portland in 2010, posting a 6.66 ERA in 78 innings, and many worried that a similar situation would present itself when he got the call to AAA this past summer. This turned out not to be the case as he posted a 3.43 ERA in four starts.
Wilson has always been a bit home run prone, often leaving pitches towards the center of the strike zone. This is where Kyle Weiland comes into play. Wilson claims that Weiland is the one who taught him his new pitch, the two-seam fastball. This pitch has given Wilson the ability to keep balls out of the zone, or at least towards the bottom of it.
Although Wilson has been used as a starter throughout his time in the minors, he seems to be an obvious fit for the bullpen. With only two dominant pitches, it’s hard to see him making a difference in the rotation. We’ve seen Daniel Bard dominate hitters with only two pitches the last three years, and even though Wilson’s raw stuff may not be as good, it’s easy to see him having success out of the bullpen. Omit his poor half-year in Portland, and Wilson has never finished with a K/9 below 7.96, certainly encouraging for someone who could be called on to pitch with men on base, when the team is in desperate need of an out.
Wilson still walks too many men (his BB/9 has averaged out to be about 3.00 over his three years in the system), but he has shown vast signs of improvement over the past year (HR/9 down from 1.72 to 0.86). Even if Cherrington acquires another big-name reliever, whether it be Andrew Bailey or Ryan Madson, it’s not hard to imagine Wilson playing a big part in the ‘pen next year.
Kyle Weiland may be gone, but don’t be surprised to see the ghost of his two-seam fastball in the top of the seventh inning at Fenway Park this summer. Alex Wilson is a name you’ll be reading a lot about come spring training. Remember it. Remember it the next time you think back to last September, the next time you remember Kyle Weiland, head bowed in shame, walking off the mound, the season in shambles behind him.