Colorado Rockies: Who would be next in line for the closer’s role?

Antonio Senzatela

This pick is one that is a bit out of the box but hear me out. Senzatela is currently in limbo between being in Triple-A Albuquerque and the major leagues and in limbo in between being a starter and a reliever.

With the stuff that he possesses (a fastball that averaged 95 miles per hour and a slider with good horizontal and vertical movement), he could be somebody that could be a closer.

He has not shown the strikeout rate that you usually see in a closer (he has averaged 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings in his pro career). However, when he pitched in relief with the Rockies last season, he struck out 23 batters in 23 2/3 innings (or 8.7 per nine innings).

In addition, in the relief role last season, he had a 3.04 ERA and an opponent batting average of .157 as a reliever, so he pitched really well in the relief role.

Obviously, closing is different than just coming out of the bullpen but Senzatela could be an option that Rockies manager could use as a closer out of the bullpen.

We don’t even know if he will make the Rockies out of spring training but, if he does, he would almost assuredly be in the bullpen. If he is, he could get an opportunity or two in the near future.