Ambiorix Burgos

GM Omar Minaya probably wishes he could have his trade of Brian Bannister for Burgos back, as the reliever was a flat out bust while Bannister finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. The key for Burgos is throwing his slider and off-speed pitches for strikes, as he has a tendency to fall in love with his fastball, which resulted in 19 walks in 23.2 innings and landed him in Triple-A at the end of May. After being sent down, Burgos missed two months due to a sore elbow. He then returned for a few outings before getting shut down with elbow pain in August that required Tommy John surgery and will sideline him for all of 2008.

Burgos opened the season as the Royals closer, but a torrential downpour of hits and walks from mid-May into early June crushed his confidence and the Royals spent the rest of the season trying to find someone else to fill the role. He was 0-3 with a 14.72 ERA during that rough stretch but was 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA before and after. Control is still an issue, as his 11 wild pitches were tops among full-time relievers in 2006. If the Mets find a way to help Burgos avoid lengthy rough stretches, he could be a solidifying force in the bullpen for a long time.

Twelve strikeout-filled outings in Double-A Wichita convinced the Royals Burgos was ready. He didn't disappoint, working his way quickly into late-inning situations and even becoming the closer for a short span. Just 22, Burgos has a live arm and a good mentality. Control has often been a problem, but continued success at making batters miss mitigates the impact. He should settle into a late-inning setup role for the next few seasons in Kansas City.

Burgos was skipped a level to begin 2005 as a reliever, sent from low Single-A Burlington to Double-A Wichita. He has a high 90s fastball with good life and movement but has trouble finding consistently in his secondary pitches and the results statistically bear this out with a career 11.28 strikeout average combined with a 1.41 WHIP. His long- term career could be as a closer as he has the stuff and mentality for the role, lacking only the prerequisite control to project real success.