For sanity’s sake I have not included all relievers in the system.  For the most part, low minors relievers are not prospects unless they move very quickly or have elite stuff.  Additionally it is hard to tell whether a pitcher is actually a starter or a reliever.

Players:

MLB: Jonathan Papelbon – 33, Mike Adams – 35, Justin De Fratus – 26, Jake Diekman – 27, Antonio Bastardo – 28, Brad Lincoln – 28, BJ Rosenberg – 28
AAA: Ethan Martin  (9) – 24, Kyle Simon – 23, Luis Garcia – 27, Jeremy Horst – 28, Mike Nesseth – 25, Shawn Camp – 38, Phillippe Aumont – 25
AA: Jay Johnson – 24, Ken Giles (14) – 23, Austin Wright – 24, Nefi Ogando – 24, Tyler Knigge  – 25, Brody Colvin – 23
A+: Dan Child – 21, Steven Inch – 23
A-: Yacksel Rios – 20, Manaure Martinez – 22

Positional Overview: Relief pitching is probably the most volatile part of baseball.  Every interaction is a small sample size, and the high leverage, max effort innings tend to lead to injuries and short careers.  For the Phillies the bullpen has been a problem since 2008.  Coming into 2014, I thought the bullpen might be a strength but continued injuries, ineffectiveness, and poor management have it going down a poor path again.  There may be help on the way soon in the form of Ethan Martin and Ken Giles, both fireballing right handed pitchers with knockout stuff.  Additionally there are intriguing left handed options in Austin Wright and Jay Johnson who have good fastball-curveball combinations, but large command issues.  Going forward the bullpen could start trending towards younger and cheaper if management is intelligent about its construction.

Fire Breathers:  There many different kinds of relievers, but the one we think of most often has a power fastball and breaking ball, this fits Ethan Martin and Ken Giles perfectly.  Martin can get his fastball up to 96 with a power curveball, meanwhile Giles has a fastball that has been clocked as high as 101 that he pairs with a short tight slider topping out at 90.  Joining these two is Nefi Ogando who has a fastball up to 97, but lacks secondary pitches and has huge command issues, and Luis Garcia whose fastball touched 97 in the majors last year but also walked 23 batters in 31.1 innings.

Stuck in the Middle:  Not all relievers are destined for the end of a bullpen, some are destined to be middle relievers, and while the leverage isn’t there, bad middle relief can sink a team.  Mike Nesseth is nobody’s idea of a dominant reliever, with a minor league career K/9 of 5.0, but a big frame and legitimate stuff good get him to the majors.  A year ago Kyle Simon was all the rage with a heavy sinker and not much else.  He still really only uses the sinker, but if he generate enough ground balls, there is a role as a multi inning reliever in his future.

Reclaiming Value:  Some relievers are failed starters.  It may be that they lack a third pitch, their control is spotty, or maybe they just cannot hold it all together, but anyway it happens it can necessitate a move to the bullpen to simplify and focus.  Last year the Phillies moved two starting pitching prospects full time to the bullpen.  Austin Wright was the Phillies 8th round pick in 2011, and while he showed some promise as a starter, Wright ultimately lacked the changeup and control needed to start long term.  Out of the bullpen Wright shows plus velocity and a good curveball.  He will have some platoon splits, but the stuff is good enough he could be a 7th inning guy for a good team.  Then there is former top prospect Brody Colvin, whose command and stuff as been all over the place since Baseball America rated him the #56 prospect in baseball following the 2010 season.  At his best Colvin shows three plus pitches, but those have regressed back quite a bit since.  Colvin is on his last chance now and will need to show that he can keep it all together in the bullpen, where his raw stuff could make him special again.

Career Relievers:  For the most part we think of relievers as failed starters, but sometimes that conversion occurs before professional ball.  If that is the case the pitcher can move quickly through the system towards a major league impact.  In college Dan Child‘s future role was unclear, pitching as a starter for Oregon St and as a reliever for Team USA.  But after being drafted, the Phillies moved him to the bullpen where he reached Clearwater in his first season.  Child shows a potential plus fastball, plus slider combination, but he first needs to get his control in order.  Jay Johnson was originally selected by the Blue Jays in 2011, but injury concerns caused them to void his contract, he then went on to sign with the Phillies who moved him right to the bullpen.  Johnson is a rare sidearm lefty with a curveball instead of a slider, and the pitch can be devastating.  Unfortunately in 2013 he walked 7.2 per 9 (while striking out 11.1 per 9), and he will need to refind his command, but when he does he could provide value as a LOOGY or maybe as a full one inning pitcher.