Assessing the players: Lance Cormier

Time to look at Lance Cormier, another member of the infamous Rays bullpen from the 2010 season. Cormier pitched well enough for the Rays (compared to some of the other pitchers in the bullpen) despite not having an overpowering fastball like a David Price would have. Cormier is a flyball/ground out type pitcher, meaning he uses location to get the hitter to hit a bad pitch and play into the defenses hands. Let’s look more closely at the numbers behind Cormier.

Cormier finished the season with a 4-3 record and an ERA of 3.92. Cormier pitched 62 innings out of the bullpen for the Rays, walking 30 batters, and striking out 34. Cormier gave up 68 hits, 27 earned runs (7 homeruns), and allowed batters to hit .281 against him.

There are many who cringe each time Cormier warmed up. He gave up 68 hits in 62 innings, doing the math, that is more than a hit per inning, which is a very bad statistic. Cormier’s fastball tops out at about 92 mph, but he relies on his off-speed pitches to try to get batters out. He locates pitches near and around the strike zone, trying to get hitters to ground out or put the ball in play for the defense to support him.

Cormier is still signed to the Rays roster, so expect him back for 2011. Cormier needs to get better control of location of his pitches, giving up that many hits in such few innings pitched is not helping the rest of the bullpen or the hitters. Cormier simply has to locate better. Final grade: D