November 14, 200421 yr Messenger making strides in AFL Marlins GM impressed with hard-throwing righty By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com Upgrading the bullpen is one of the Marlins' top offseason priorities. While they are exploring relief options from other teams, a young pitcher from within the organization who is gaining a lot of attention is Double-A right-hander Randy Messenger. An 11th-round pick in 1999, Messenger is fine-tuning his skills with the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League. A closer for the Double-A Carolina Mudcats this past season, Messenger has made 14 relief appearances in the AFL. He is 2-0 with a 13.83 ERA, giving up 21 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings. While those numbers are inflated, they are mainly the result of a recent tough outing. The Marlins plan on giving Messenger a look in Spring Training to possibly make the squad as a reliever. "He had a very good year in Double-A," Marlins general manager Admin Beinfest said. "He has very good arm strength. We're working on the development of the consistency of a second pitch, which would be his slider. I think once he's more comfortable with that second pitch, and he can throw it more consistently for strikes, he's going to be a factor and have a chance to pitch in the big leagues." The AFL is offering Messenger the chance to brush up on that slider. As is evident by his fall league numbers, there are some growing pains trying to perfect secondary pitches. But the AFL is where players develop, and rather than have Messenger rely solely on getting outs with his fastball, he is mixing up pitches with mixed results. Messenger's fastball has been clocked between 93-96 mph. "He's doing a good job and measuring up to the competition out there," Beinfest said of Messenger's AFL season. The Desert Dogs are managed by Dean Treanor, the Marlins' minor league pitching coordinator. Other top prospects in the AFL are outfielders Jeremy Hermida and Eric Reed, infielder Josh Wilson and pitchers Mike McNutt and Jeff Fulchino. Recently, Trevor Hutchinson was sent home because of a tired right shoulder. An MRI was taken and came back negative. Beinfest said Hutchinson should be ready for Spring Training, where he also should get a shot to compete as either a starter or reliever. McNutt is 2-0 with a 4.98 ERA in 10 games with the Desert Dogs. Fulchino has not factored into a decision, and his ERA is 6.88 in six games, with three starts. After a hot start, Hermida has cooled off. He is batting .237 in 22 games, with 97 at-bats. As Hermida adjusts to hitting better offspeed pitches than he saw at Class A Jupiter, the left-handed hitting outfielder has impressed scouts across the league. He is projected to start the 2005 season at Double-A.
November 16, 200421 yr u call a 13.83 era doing well ? 615421[/snapback] While those numbers are inflated, they are mainly the result of a recent tough outing. Might have given up 5-7 runs in one outing or something like that.
November 16, 200421 yr Author Yeah, it was a 8 ER 1 IP outing. I think the boxscore may be in the AFL thread.
November 16, 200421 yr u call a 13.83 era doing well ? 615421[/snapback] hey, don't shoot the messenger.... :plain
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