RELIEVERS: What spring stats can tell us

This week's column looks at what spring training can tell us about relief pitchers. Relievers so far have around 10-15 innings in games. Clearly there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes as well and a lot of the evaluation happens against scrubs and minor leaguers, so reliance on the results can be quite a bit uneven. So what can we learn?

Let's look at some players, starting with Raul Valdes (LHP, PHI):

                   IP    H   Cmd HR  WHIP  Opp.BA
==============    ==== ==== ==== ==  ====  ======
R.Valdes (PHI)    14.1  13  17/1  5  0.98   .232

Valdes is pitching regularly, so we learn that his knee surgery in the off-season went well and that it is not a problem for him pitching in March. We learn that his mechanics are...

Almost!

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