I guess the giants could assign him to Winter League ball as he missed part of this season because of injury, and see if he has the ability to start.  His stuff is good, he is 25 years old, and a big strong kid who could probably toss a bunch of innings.  We currently have a strong 5 man rotation with Timmy, Matt, Jonathan, Madison, and Barry Zito.  But what if one of these guys goes down?  What is our drop off?  Who in the minors would be ready to take the jump into the rotation?   Also if we have both Affeldt and Lopez as bullpen lefties, than we should prepare Runzler to at least be our long reliever and possibly a starter if one of our 4 aces and a trey goes down. 

Runzler can throw in the high nineties at times, and has good movement, He also has at least one decent off speed pitch and maybe more.  I could see a rotation of Timmy, Matt, Jonathan, Madison, and Dan.  I think the giants should prep him to start, and if it doesn't work out, chalk it up to experimentation.  Not much to lose. They teach him another pitch if he needs one, and build up his pitching stamina.  Even if he goes back to the pen, nothing lost.  It might even enhance his trade value if that were to become an option.  Perhaps because of  destroying his knee on one swing, folks may think he is too fragile to become a starter.  But freak injuries can happen to the best of them. I was wondering what others in the McCoven think about the giants making a move to convert Runzler to a starter, even if at first it converts him into a long reliever.