[Ragin Cajun]

The starting staff returning from last year is Ed Figueroa, Rudy May, Nolan Ryan, Bill Singer and Frank Tanana. The bullpen is John Cumberland, Dick Lange, Skip Lockwood, Barry Rasiano, Dick Selma and Luis Quintana in the closers role.

Ryan has dominant stuff but does show a lack of control. He's walked over 157 batters each of the last two seasons. That's a big concern for me. He's a 20 game winner and his ERA has been under 2.87 since coming to California in '72. He should anchor the staff.

Frank Tanana is 20 years old and had a 2-2 record in his call up last year. His ERA was 3.08. I believe he can be a dominant #2 in our order.

Bill Singer is 29 and a veteran of the staff. He came over from LA last year and went 20-14 with a 3.32 ERA. He is penciled in at the #1 slot with his experience.

Rudy May seems to have potential but went 7-17 last season. We'll be watching him closely and he has a short leash.

Ed Figueroa is a rookie this season. He's got solid control and great movement on his ball. His stuff isn't the best and could spell trouble. He's got a shot to make the club for the #5 spot.

Luis Quintana is the closer from Puerto Rico. At 22 he's going to get his first shot at the bigs. He's got great movement with average stuff and control. The question is whether he can handle the pressure of the role.

The rest of the bullpen is a big question. None of our pen guys are overly dominant. We may look at signing one or two arms as the offseason progresses.