Renyel Pinto

Pinto looked very comfortable as the Marlins' top left-handed set-up man before a late season hamstring injury took the shine off his numbers. He's not likely to see a lot of save chance or have much upside in that role, but if you're looking for bullpen staff filler who can get you some strikeouts and decent ratios, you could do worse.

Pinto's mid-90s fastball and great change-up got him almost a strikeout an inning, and he managed to improve his walk rate to nearly adequate. He's better suited for relief work due to his lack of a third pitch and lack of control of his two plus pitches, but with the Marlins he's just one power bullpen arm among many, and he isn't likely to get many save chances.

Pinto struggled with his control at Triple-A, a problem that only got worse during his short stint in the majors. On the bright side he still struck out better than a batter an inning, even in the majors. If he can find even the slightly improved command of the zone he displayed at Double-A for the Cubs in 2005, he could find a home in the Marlins bullpen. Long-term that could be his home anyway, as the Marlins have many younger, and potentially better, prospects coming up in the system behind Pinto. Given his strikeout rates a closing career is always possible, but let's see him find the strike zone with regularity first.

Pinto dominated Double-A hitters for the last two seasons, and in 2005 he cut down his home runs allowed and, to some extent, his walks. But in a brief stint at Triple-A, the walks and long balls returned in force. If he becomes more consistent locating his pitches (neither out of the strike zone or over the plate), the 6-4 lefty has a lot of upside, especially in Pro Player Stadium's friendly confines. Expect him to start off at Triple-A with the possibility of a call-up at any point.

Pinto, a 6-4, 200-pound lefty, dominated Double-A hitters in 2004 en route to the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors. He still needs to cut down on the walks, but if the 22-year-old continues to pitch well in the high minors, he could see time in the big leagues in 2005.

Low-A pitching prospect, a couple years away.