Out with the old...
The Red Sox have release future hall of famer John Smoltz. In his place, they have called up Junichi Tazawa.
Tazawa was signed in the off season out of Japan - grabbed before he signed a multi year contract with a Japanese team. He's a 23 old right hander who has been handling the minors extremely well. In double A, he had 9 wins, 2 losses, and a great ERA of 2.57. In triple A, he hasn't won a game, but has lowered his ERA to 2.37.
He has 4 pitches, fastball (low 90's), slider, curve, and a splitter. He has shown good strike out ability with this repertoire.
Boston hasn't said what his role will be for this season. He has been a starter in the minors and Boston wants him as a starter for the long run. We'll find out soon.
As with any young pitcher, you have to tread carefully. Keeper leagues should be grabbing this guy sooner then later. Deep leagues may want to take a flyer. In shallow leagues, let Tazawa show what he can do at the major league level - and let his spot be finalized (Starter or Reliever).
-Scout Monkey Labels: John Smoltz, Junichi Tazawa, Mark King, Scout Monkey, Starting Pitching