Jeremy Accardo
IP: 67
ERA: 4.49
K: 59
BB: 29
There's coming out of nowhere, and then there's Jeremy Accardo. He was a shortstop/reliever in college, but had much more experience as a shortstop. As a shortstop prospect he apparently couldn't hold a candle to Joe Nathan because, unlike Nathan, Accardo went undrafted. From undrafted goof to successful major leaguer in about two years, Accardo's success is a little like Queen Latifah moving from '80s rap empress to an actress who could count my parents as fans. It's odd at first, sure, but you eventually get used to it.
The slider slides, the fastball's fast, and it's easy to see why he blitzed through the minors last season. I was at the game where Felipe Alou plugged him in the ninth to get a save - a move as crazy as it was brilliant as it was awful - and he didn't blow the save by getting shelled. He blew the save by giving up a leadoff walk, and then getting blooped to death. His control is still rough, and that's the reason for the borderline pessimistic projection.
I'm bullish on his abilities long term, but I don't expect him to dominate right away. I love the idea of a young, cheap bullpen that would allow the Giants to allocate funds elsewhere for three years. In a perfect world the corps of young relief arms would all develop perfectly, making Armando Benitez and his lumpy salary expendable. There's an outside shot of that happening right away, but it's far more likely the short term will be a mixed bag for the younger members of the bullpen, and especially so for Accardo.
Your projections for Accardo...