Today I wanted to take a look at a couple of bullpen guys from the Bakersfield Blaze. In working my way through the 2014 Prospect Guide, I got some good information on the Blaze bullpen as well as some better quality video to review (that I unfortunately can’t share). El’Hajj Muhammad, Pat Doyle and Mike Dennhardt are the guys that I will be looking at today.
Before going down with an injury, El’Hajj Muhammad was tearing through the California League with a 1.82 ERA in 24.2 innings with 19 walks an 34 strikeouts. Clearly the walks were higher than you would like to see, but the strikeout rate was also very high. Not only was Muhammad limiting contact, but the contact that was being made was mostly on the ground, which further helped him keep the other team from scoring. The former 49th rounder made some strides with his stuff in 2013 though that helped lead to the big gain in strikeouts.
Scouting Report
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Muhammad went from being an 88-90 MPH fastball guy in the past to being a 91-93 MPH fastball pitcher in 2013 and topped out at 96 MPH. With the extra velocity though came a bit more wildness as his walk rate jumped up to a rate that must be lowered for him to continue to be effective in the future. He also mixes in an above-average slider in the low-to-mid 80’s that has short, but tight breaking action to it that is a swing-and-miss caliber pitch.
Mike Dennhardt saw his ERA nearly double as he jumped from Dayton to Bakersfield, though he seemed to actually improve in almost every other area. While he split time in the rotation and the bullpen, the bullpen will be in his future. His fastball works in the 90-93 MPH range with good movement. His breaking ball, which was rather inconsistent in 2012, was much more consistent in 2013 and showed tighter breaking action. The improvement there is likely what led to him drastically increasing his strikeout rate. For the most part he shows good control, though he can overthrow at times and struggle to find the zone.
Pat Doyle repeated his season with the Bakersfield Blaze and was dominant out of the bullpen as his ERA dropped off nearly 3 full runs from 2012. While his walk rate was nearly identical, his strikeout rate did jump up from a solid rate to an above-average one. The biggest difference though was limiting home runs much better, going from 15 to 7 in just 9 fewer innings pitched. Doyle brings a cut fastball in at 89-93 MPH and he controls the pitch well. His slider is an above-average pitch with hard biting action when at its best, though it can be inconsistent at times.
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