A's Opening Day Roster: Breaking Down The Pitchers

My take: It's really easy to see the David Wells comparison if you watch Eveland throw an inning; in fact, if Eveland slowed his delivery down a bit they'd have the exact same windup. Thus, Eveland obviously has some upside, but I'd personally like to see him prove himself in the bullpen first.

However, given his excellent spring, Eveland may have turned the corner and you can't really question the decision. If he falters, there are plenty of guys who can be good fifth starters.  

Bullpen

Huston Street, RHP

Pros: Street has a wicked two-seam fastball that ranks among the best in the game. He throws a good slider and changeup as well, and his delivery makes all his pitches hard to read. He was the best reliever in baseball as a rookie in 2005 (as measured by WXRL (Wins Expected Above Replacement Level) and is still young.

Cons: Street has more meltdowns than you'd like to see in your closer, as evidenced by his blown save and subsequent loss on Opening Day against the Red Sox. He has the second-most blown saves in MLB over the last three years. He has also spent time on the DL the last two years.

My take: Street is a good closer, but he seems to be getting slightly worse every year at a young age, which isn't a good sign, especially coupled with his durability issues. Street has been brought up in trades as well, but while I think the A's would be wise to hang on to Blanton and Harden, Street may be a bit overrated, and thus he may bring back more value than he's worth. Nothing against him though; Street is excellent, and it isn't all that unlikely that he could get better still.

Alan Embree, LHP

Pros: Embree has a rather unique skill set. He really has just one pitch, a fastball. (He throws a slider occasionally, but it's not very good and he only throws it to change speeds once in a while). Most veteran situational lefties are finesse guys with good breaking pitches, but Embree just throws letter-high fastballs on the inside corner pitch after pitch after pitch. The strategy seems unsound, but it works for him. He is OK against righties as well, and has closing experience if Street goes down again.

Cons: You lose velocity as you get older, and the fact that Embree succeeds with his approach at 38 is remarkable as it is. It will catch up to him eventually, and when it does he will have nothing to fall back on.

My take: Is this the year where Embree's formula stops working? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but if the A's are really rebuilding they'd be well-served to deal him for a prospect or two before he implodes. Even if he keeps doing this another five years, it wouldn't be a mistake.

Keith Foulke, RHP

Pros

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