Taylor Tankersley

Tankersley's career went into freefall in 2008, as he had trouble getting out even Triple-A hitters and finished the year with soreness in his elbow. Renyal Pinto has taken over as the top left-hander in the Marlins' bullpen, and while a healthy Tankersley at the top of his game would be an asset to any relief corps Florida seems prepared to move on without him. It might be time for a change of scenery here.

Tankersley entered the season as a closer candidate for the Marlins, but hurt his shoulder at the beginning of spring training and struggled badly for three months before a demotion to Triple-A. As bad as he was in the first half, however, he was just as good in the second half, striking out 33 batters in 24.1 innings. As in 2006 even the "good" Tankersley had suspect control, but his mid-90s fastball and sharp slider are nasty enough to make him effective even with the free passes thrown into the mix. He'll need to put the shoulder issues behind him to get back into the closer-of-the-future picture for the Marlins, though.

His conversion to the bullpen at Double-A a resounding success, Tankersley got called up to the majors mid-season and set himself on the BJ Ryan path to future closerdom. His control still needs some work, and he'll likely apprentice as a set-up man/situational closer against tough left-handed batters for a season or two, but provided his shoulder problems don't flare up again his upside (in both fantasy and real baseball terms) is tremendous. If the Marlins don't bring in a veteran closer to camp, he could emerge as the leading candidate for the closer job sooner rather than later.

The Marlins plan on converting Tankersley into a reliever this season after getting a scare when he developed some shoulder problems at Low-A. If he takes to his new role, he could eventually emerge as a true shut-down bullpen lefty, along the lines of a Damaso Marte or Arthur Rhodes.

Tankersley got his feet wet in pro ball blowing his fastball by overmatched Low-A kids, but he'll need to refine the rest of his arsenal if he wants to keep it up. He's the kind of player the Marlins like to promote aggressively, so a mid-summer 2006 major league ETA is entirely possible.

Drafted out of high school by the Royals, Tankersley had an up-and-down collegiate career for Alabama with an up year in 2004. He possesses a serious low-to-mid 90s fastball that he controls and throws to any spot, but will need to develop his slider and changeup to have success as a starter in the pros. MIght ultimately be suited to be a closer, and has thrived in the role in college when used in that capacity.