MLB Free Agents 2012: Will Neftali Feliz Be Good Enough to Replace C.J. Wilson?

C.J. Wilson is all but gone.  The Rangers won't chase the starter for more than $75 million, and I'm pretty confident that other ball clubs are in the $80s or higher.  Unless he wants to take a large cut in pay, he's a thing of the past.  

In late November the Rangers made a play to change the portrait of the pitching staff before Wilson made a choice.  They signed Joe Nathan and announced that Neftali Feliz would be moved to the starting rotation.  

The Rangers toyed with the idea of Feliz as a starter last spring, but the decision was made late in the winter.  There was never a full commitment.  Feliz himself went back and forth on if he preferred to start or close.  This time is different.  

Rangers fans are wondering: Will Feliz will be good enough to replace C.J. Wilson as a front of the rotation starter?

Situation

Neftali Feliz and C.J. Wilson are going to have a similar journey to the starting rotation, but the two have some key differences.  

C.J. Wilson asked to be put in the rotation during spring training of the 2010 season.  When he asked, he was the club's late bullpen man.  The Rangers let him compete for a spot all spring.  The rotation featured Scott Feldman, Rich Harden, Tommy Hunter and Colby Lewis (from Japan the year before). 

Wilson was joining a fairly new and unproven staff—a staff that wasn't particularly used to winning.  

Feliz has been the guy at the end of games for the last two years.  He electrified fans two years ago, and he's been a consistent closer since.  He attempts to enter a rotation that was the first since the '96 team to have five starters with 10-plus wins.  Four of them are back.

Feliz knows what is expected of him if he is to be a contributor in this rotation.  

Preparation

Last year the Rangers gave Feliz a shot at starting.  The club went back and forth on whether they were committed to him in the closer's role or wanted him to start.  

A starter approaches the season in a different manner than a reliever.  Feliz is going to have to work on his secondary and even tertiary pitches to see a lineup three times a night.  His fitness is going to have to improve in order to pitch five-plus innings every fifth game.  This year he knows about it, and he's committed to it before Thanksgiving—fully committed.  

Wilson prepared every year by reading books on his zen, working out, keeping up with his hobbies and trying not to focus too much on baseball, says sportspickle.com.  Wilson said in his interview before the ALDS this year that he followed a samurai proverb that said: "If you sharpen your knife too much it gets dull" (via asapsports.com).

It's being reported that Feliz is changing up his workout regimen and that he'll get some starts in the Winter League.  The player who focuses more on the game and less on samurai proverbs will probably win out here.  He's starting to take the necessary steps to succeed.  

Pitches

Neftali Feliz technically has four pitches.  He uses one of them about 90 percent of the time: his fastball.  When he came into the league in 2009, he lit up the gun at ballparks.  The Rangers were pretty much out of the race in late August/September of that year and people still watched to see Feliz crank it up to 101.  

The problem is that major league hitters can catch up to speed when that's all they see.  Feliz will have to work on his second, third and maybe a fourth pitch.  Right now he has a fastball, slider, changeup and a curveball.  

His fastball is far better than Wilson's ever thought about being.  His other pitches will develop.  

Feliz be able to work on those pitches over the offseason.  They aren't bad to begin with, but Feliz struggled when he didn't go to his off-speed stuff enough.  He's also young, so he's still developing, believe it or not.  Those pitches will improve with work.

Command

Feliz has been wild in the past.  It always seems as though he has to walk someone in order to really get cranked up.  

As a starter, Feliz will have to take about four MPH off of his fastball.  Also he'll have to learn to slow his pace.  

Feliz has been pitching out of the stretch for the majority of his major league career.  The regularity of a routine and knowing that he only pitches every five games will slow him down.  Instead of being on call, he'll have a regular 9 to 5.  

Mentality

Game 6 of the World Series was devastating.  I honestly try as hard as I can not to think about it too much, but I still get frustrated with the hypothetical questions and frustration of being one strike away— twice.  

It was obviously hard on Feliz too as Ron Washington said that he was too shaken up to return to the game, according to CBS Dallas.  Numerous people wondered about his mentality after that game.  Could he be the same again?  

It's been stressed that Feliz is young, but it's worth noting again.  As a starter Feliz won't be the last line of defense.  

He won't always be in one-, two- or three-run games.  He'll have some big leads to work with.  He'll also have the promise of the next inning.  

Offense

The Dallas Stars color analyst, Daryl "Razor" Reaugh, is an abyss of descriptive words.  He's best known for his enormous vocabulary.  He'd probably have trouble finding enough words to describe the Rangers offense.  They are the personification of every superlative you can give an offense.  

They were tops in the majors with a .283 team batting average and third in runs scored with 855.  They gave Derek Holland a stupid average of about 7.5 runs per game.  They honestly don't have a soft spot in the lineup.

Feliz will be on the front end of that this year.  For the past two years, he's toed the rubber mostly when his team was in a close ballgame, but now he'll be able to pitch with much less weight on his shoulders.  

Bullpen

Should Feliz not be the recipient of incredible run support, he has one of the best bullpens in the league behind him.  This bullpen is going to have trouble letting him down.  

The Rangers rotation will have a number of proven long men (Ogando, Feldman, Harrison) and enough three-out pitchers to pick up the pieces.  

A lot of people have their doubts about the idea of an aging Joe Nathan closing out games.  If he struggles early, the Rangers have Mike Adams ready finish.  I'm also not sure that the Rangers aren't still looking for more help in the bullpen.  Andrew Bailey has been a name of interest lately.  

It's not to say that Wilson didn't have a great bullpen backing him up; it's just more to say that the bullpen won't be depleted with the absence of Feliz.

Coaching

Rangers fans sighed with relief when we saw that Mike Maddux didn't turn out to be the Cubs new manager.  He's been one of the reasons that the Rangers pitching has made the turnaround that it has.  

He's the reason that his brother is here now too.  Greg Maddux joined the Rangers coaching staff as an assistant to the general manager but will surely be doing a majority of his work with the pitchers.  His knowledge can only help with Feliz's development.  

The Rangers also still have Ron Washington.  He garnered the respect of many in 2008 when C.J. tried to flip him the ball while he was being pulled after giving up a grand slam.  Wash yanked C.J. back to the mound as if to say, "Hand me the ball like a grown-up."  He won't put up with much and keeps his pitchers in line.  

C.J. Wilson and Alexi Ogando

The Rangers have done this before.  It isn't new.  They've also had recent success—twice.  C.J. Wilson was the Opening Day starter last year, and he'll get an $85 million dollar deal this year.  Alexi Ogando was an All-Star his first year starting.  

Neftali watched the two transform into starters.  Feliz has talked about his desire to start.  He's been watching their mannerisms and picking up the different nuances that starting pitching requires.  

There is one major difference between the 2010 Rookie of the Year and the aforementioned: Neftali Feliz is more talented.

The Front Office

Jon Daniels has been nothing short of great.  His moves have kept the Rangers in contention for the last two years.  Thad Levine said he wasn't interested in any other job outside of the one he has now with Texas, according to ESPN.

They know what they're doing.

Nolan brought a new mindset to the pitching staff.  They go deep into games.  They get out of jams.  They are mentally strong. 

Feliz will have to buy into that mindset in order to make it.  He'll be mentally stronger as a starter.

Final Product

Some talented prospects have come through Arlington.  Feliz trumps them all.  

He'll have a top-notch offense, defense and bullpen behind him.  He has a blueprint for success.  He has time to prepare mentally and physically.  He has the tools.  

Will he be a Cy Young contender next year? Probably not.  Was C.J. Wilson?  Nope.  

Feliz is talented if you haven't caught on.  He'll be a solid two or three, if not the staff leader.  A quality starter is more expensive and harder to acquire than a shutdown bullpen member.  

Feliz will be good enough to replace C.J. Wilson.