Bats/Throws: R/R

Height/Weight: 6’3”/190 lbs

Acquired: NDFA

Born: 10/10/89 (Santo Domingo, DR)

2009 Rank: 27

Why Ranked Here: Fastball and build.  At the end of the ’09 season, Familia was sitting  in the low 90s with his fastball, up a few ticks from ’08 and by spring training 2010, he was 92-94, touching 96.  That, my friends, is plus velocity.  Combine that plus velocity with some movement from his big frame, and you have the makings of a very nice pitching prospect.  Familia’s breaking ball is a power slurve in the lowers 80s that he must continue to refine and his changeup is his distant third pitch.  He started using a two-seamer in ’09 as well, although it too, was a below average offering.

2009: Familia’s 2.69 ERA was third in the SAL, and his 1.16 WHIP was fourth.  Moreover, his improvement over the course of the season i is reflected in his strikeout numbers: before the All-Star break he fanned 6.51 batters per nine innings, but that jumped all the way to 8.38 whiffs per nine in his final 10 starts of the year.

Dr. Pangloss Says: #3 starter or bullpen beast

Debbie Downer Says: Generic middle reliever unless he figures out a second or third pitch

Projected 2010 Start: St. Lucie Rotation

MLB Arrival: September 2011, or 2012