No, I haven't forgotten! It's about time we got started on the top 10 relievers list, don't you think?
First, a word about method for my selections. This probably drives traditionalists crazy, but I do NOT focus on wins and saves for the relievers list. As I have mentioned before in this space, wins and saves are mostly statistics of opportunity. They don't tell us much about the effectiveness of pitchers. I focus on the following categories: innings pitched, opponent's batting average, BB/9, K/9, WHIP, and ERA.
With that in mind, let's get started with our #10: The Turks' Chase Sonen.
Chase, a redshirt senior pitching for St. Joseph's, was an important arm out of the bullpen for Harrisonburg. He finished the year 1-2, 2.21, with 4 saves, a 1.008 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, and 9.8 K/9 in 36 2/3 innings.
He also started two games, which somewhat skewed his numbers. In those two starts, Chase went a total of 10 innings, allowing 13 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, and striking out 7. The Turks lost both games.
When Chase moved over to the bullpen, he was lights-out: 1-0, 1.01, 0.79 WHIP, 3.4 BB/9, and 11.1 K/9 in 26 2/3 innings.
Chase also threw for the Turks in 2007, albeit for only 17 innings. He went 0-0, 2.65, with 1 save, a 1.00 WHIP, 5.3 BB/9, and 9.5 K/9. He was just returning from a back injury, which meant he had quite a bit of rust to pitch through.
Here are Chase's stats in school:
2005: 2-1, 4.75, 1.58 WHIP, 5.8 BB/9, 8.5 K/9 in 36 innings
2006: 2-3, 2.92, 1.17 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 9.1 K/9 in 24 2/3 innings, plus 7 saves
2007: 2-2, 4.58, 1.37 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 6.4 K/9 in 19 2/3 innings- redshirted due to injury
2008: 9-1, 3.57, 1.04 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9, 7.5 K/9 in 80 2/3 innings
Expectations are high for Chase this spring- Collegiate Baseball has named him a preseason Division II All-American. Hopefully Chase will perform to expectations and end up in pro ball later this year!
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