The past few days have seen two left handed pitchers hit the waiver wire around baseball. With the Pittsburgh Pirates holding the number one waiver claim, and in need of left handed relievers, let’s take a look at the two options available:
Rommie Lewis, Toronto Blue Jays, DFA to make room for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera
Lewis turned 28 in September, and is a big framed left hander, at 6′ 5″, 230 pounds. In 18.2 innings in the majors in 2010, Lewis put up a 6.75 ERA, with a 7.2 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and 1.9 HR/9 ratio. His numbers in AAA aren’t much different, with a 6.28 ERA in 77.1 innings, along with a 7.1 K/9, a 3.6 BB/9, and an 0.9 HR/9 ratio. Lewis throws 90-93 MPH, with a sharp slider.
Dusty Hughes, Kansas City Royals, DFA to make room for Jeff Francis
Hughes turns 29 mid-way through the 2011 season, and is much smaller than Lewis, at 5′ 10″, 185 pounds. He had a 3.83 ERA in 56.1 innings in the majors last year, although his ratios weren’t impressive, with a 5.4 K/9 and a 3.8 BB/9 ratio. Hughes had good numbers against left handers, with a .674 OPS, along with a .775 OPS against right handers. He throws an 88-91 MPH fastball, along with a plus changeup, which explains why he is effective against both left handers and right handers.