NLCS: Seranthony Dominguez Leads a Rebuilt Phillies Bullpen
A little more than two years ago, the Phillies made a series of moves that revolutionized their minor league system. The Phillies started rebuilding early on but not early enough to avoid the rebuild.
On Saturday night, after years of watching the minor league system improve under the watchful eye of a Hall of Fame coach, one of the team’s top minor league prospects took the mound against what will now be a much different Phillies bullpen.
The Phillies were once again in first place after their dominant outing against the Cubs in the NLDS, and their pitching was once again the focus of attention. This time, however, it was the bullpen that took over games.
On Saturday they were not too far away from being the first team in the history of Philadelphia baseball to win back-to back Cy Young awards. They were however in a position where if they were to continue their current pace they would have to continue to get better and that starts with their bullpen.
The bullpen was the issue the entire way through to the second game. When they couldn’t get a timely hit in Game Five, they had to have an ace in the hole, or at least an ace who provided that one or two of the relievers could get the last few outs. And the bullpen was the reason for their offense playing as well as it did.
A number of changes were made to the bullpen, and most notably, the addition of a left-handed arm, which was needed for the Phillies to not only keep their bullpen healthy, but to pitch in a number of games for different teams. The most notable pitcher, and the only left handed pitcher in the pen was Seranthony Dominguez, the first round pick from last night’s win.
The Phillies bullpen, to put it lightly, has been rebuilt. It was rebuilt with the intent of continuing to stay healthy for the postseason, with a bullpen that had to be as strong as possible to be as close to being able to compete for a championship as possible.
Let’s take a look at how far the Phillies have come since their rebuild started, and how far Seranthony Dominguez has come.
Roster Change
The Philadelphia Phillies made a series of minor moves in the offseason that have changed the outlook on their minor league system and rebuilt their bullpen. These moves