Friday, February 19, 2016

Welcome to the Blue, Louis Coleman!


As has been widely reported, the Dodgers have signed former Royals right-handed reliever Louis Coleman to a Major League contract.  Per a tweet by Coleman yesterday afternoon:
Various reports indicate that his contract is for $750,000.00, but I don't think this guarantees a spot in the Dodgers bullpen.  He'll have to earn a position to stay in Los Angeles.  That said, he shined in Triple-AAA in 2015 and was spotless in a brief call-up last season for the World Champion Royals.  Coleman throws a four-seam fastball in the low 90's, a slider in the low 80's and an occasional change-up (strictly to left-handed hitters).  He had been very effective in his years in Kansas City, but got set aside due to an already deep bullpen.  With the Dodgers he will have a chance to earn a middle-relief job; especially considering how moribund the staff has been the past few seasons.

UPDATE:  Louis Coleman will be wearing #62 during Spring Training, via a tweet from Coleman.  I've already updated my 2016 Spring Dodgers Roster List (link here)

From a Dodgers press release officially announcing the signing:
Coleman, 29, spent the majority of the 2015 season with the Royals’ Triple-A Omaha, going 8-2 with nine saves and a 1.69 ERA in 38 games, before receiving a call-up to Kansas City on Sept. 7 and making four scoreless appearances (3.0 IP) in the big leagues. With Omaha, he struck out 63 in 64.0 innings and limited opposing hitters to a .212 batting average, while posting a 1.11 WHIP.

Coleman made his Major League debut in 2011 with the Royals and appeared in 152 games with Kansas City from 2011-15, going 6-4 with two saves and a 3.20 ERA. He’s limited opposing hitters to a .223 batting average in the big leagues, while averaging better than a strikeout per inning, with 186 Ks in 177.1 innings pitched.

In seven minor league seasons, the Mississippi native has gone 24-12 with 36 saves, a 2.26 ERA, a .197 opponents’ batting average and a 1.04 WHIP in 165 relief appearances after being selected by the Royals in the fifth round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Louisiana State University.
In celebration of his signing I made the above fantasy card of him.  The photograph is from Zimbio/Christian Petersen/Getty Images and I used the 1987 Topps Baseball card design. 

Below are his career statistics, via Baseball-Reference:


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