Jose Arredondo 2009

I've seen several sites list both Jose Arredondo and Scot Shields as potential replacements for Francisco Rodriguez as the Angels' closer in 2009. While I suspect that Shields will get first shot at the role, his control has been a little shaky the past two years, so Arredondo may get a chance to close at some point in 2009. If he does, he should do fine. In 2008, he struck out 8.7 batters per nine innings while walking 3.5. That would be good, but coupled with his 51.2% groundball rate, it's excellent. His minor league numbers are roughly in-line with what he accomplished in the majors, although they seem to indicate the potential for slightly worse control.