The Diamondbacks bullpen will have a different look in 2008 but it should remain effective. 28-year old righty Brandon Lyon will be the stopper for the D-Backs at the start of the season. He pitched in 73 games (0 starts) last season for the D-Backs and he was 6-4 with 2 saves, 35 holds (#1 in N.L.), a 2.68 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Lyon is not a big strikeout pitcher so he will have to be fine with his control to remain effective.

26-year old righty Tony Pena will be the 8th inning man for the Diamondbacks this season. He pitched in 75 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 5-4 with 2 saves, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has arm and stuff to succeed as the closer if Lyon has issues this season.

29-year old righty Chad Qualls will be the 7th inning man for the D-Backs this season. He pitched in 79 games (0 starts) for the Astros this season and he was 6-5 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He also whiffed 78 batters in 82.2 innings last season which shows what kind of stuff he has.

29-year old righty Juan Cruz was outstanding out of the bullpen for the Diamondbacks last season. He pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 6-1 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Cruz also whiffed 87 batters in only 61 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has.

28-year old lefty Doug Slaten will be the lone lefty in the bullpen this season. He pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He needs to throw more strikes to remain effective.

28-year old righty Brandon Medders will be the first pitcher in the game if the starter has issues. He pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs last season and he was 1-2 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.

26-year old righty Connor Robertson was the other player that the D-Backs received from the A’s in the Dan Haren trade. He pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-0 with a 18.00 ERA and a 4.00 WHIP. Robertson also pitched in 32 games in Rookie+AAA ball last season and he was 5-1 with 2 saves, a 4.24 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.

23-year old righty Emiliano Fruto will also start the season in the minors. He did not pitch in the majors last season. Fruto has pitched in 23 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-2 with 1 save, a 5.50 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B