View Full Version : Jose Capellan
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=342526#post342526 target=_blank>Brewers trade Kolb to Atlanta</a>
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=343144#post343144 target=_blank>Brewers acquire Carlos Lee and Jose Capellan</a>
<b><font size=4>Young pitcher will get a chance</font></b>
Before the Atlanta Braves traded Jose Capellan in December, the pitching-rich organization considered him a potential member of their starting rotation in 2005.
So it should come as no surprise that the Milwaukee Brewers, his new franchise, are ready to give Capellan, 24, the ball every fifth day.
“His fastball is the real deal,” said Brewers television broadcaster Daron Sutton during the Brewers Winter Caravan stop at the Sheboygan YMCA on Thursday. “My father said that he hopes his breaking ball gets better. But when you’re in your early 20s and throwing 95 miles per hour, you’re ahead of the game. But he has to get command of the curveball and develop that third pitch.”
Sutton’s father is Don Sutton, the Hall of Fame pitcher who spent part of his career with the Brewers and is now a Braves broadcaster.
Daron Sutton projects Capellan as at least the Brewers’ fifth starter in a rotation that should be anchored by ace Ben Sheets and lefty Doug Davis, each of whom enjoyed breakout years in 2004.
Other rotation candidates include Ben Hendrickson, Chris Capuano and Victor Santos.
“Capellan was a possibility to be in the rotation with the Braves, so why not with the Brewers?” said Sutton. “There’s too much talent in that arm not to get him to the big leagues right away.”
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=358967#post358967post358967 target=_blank>Minors: Brewers 2005 Top 10 Prospect List Features Soon-To-Be Sounds</a>
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=360576#post360576post360576 target=_blank>Brewers sign Capellan and four others</a>
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=361385#post361385post361385 target=_blank>Newcomer Breakdown</a>
<b><font size=4>Ahead of the curve</font>
Pitching phenom Capellan looks sharp</b>
Phoenix - The Milwaukee Brewers' spring training camp has not officially opened yet but pitching phenom Jose Capellan already is raising some eyebrows.
"It's not often you see a kid who throws that hard who also has command of his pitches," manager Ned Yost said Friday after early arrivals to camp had an informal workout at Maryvale Stadium.
"That's what makes him special."
Capellan, 24, is imposing in more ways than one. At 6 feet 4 inches and 235 pounds, he is a commanding presence when he walks through the clubhouse.
But it is on a pitching mound where Capellan truly distinguishes himself. With a fastball that approaches 100 mph and a knee-buckling breaking ball, the right-hander from the Dominican Republic can intimidate a hitter.
Acquired from Atlanta in December for closer Dan Kolb, Capellan roared through the Braves' farm system last year, pitching at the Class A, AA and AAA levels. He went 14-4 with a 2.33 earned run average, with 152 strikeouts in 139 innings.
Reading that résumé and actually watching Capellan turn the ball loose are different things, however. In informal throwing sessions over the past few days under the watchful eye of pitching coach Mike Maddux, Capellan has exhibited a smooth delivery as well as an ability to hit spots on both sides of the plate.
"He looks like a pitcher who throws hard instead of a hard-thrower who's trying to pitch," Maddux said. "There's a big difference. We have a lot of power arms in camp this spring."
The Brewers will give Capellan a chance to win a job in the starting rotation in what is expected to be a fierce battle for the final two spots. There also has been thought that he could emerge as a dominating closer one day.
Capellan was one of several new faces who already checked into the Brewers' camp, even though the first official workout does not take place until Monday morning. As of Friday afternoon, 37 of the 54 players invited to camp had participated in at least one workout.
An older yet familiar face was third baseman Jeff Cirillo, 35, the former Brewers star who is trying to resurrect his career as a non-roster invitee to camp.
"It feels good to be back," Cirillo said. "I'm looking forward to it."
The Brewers will be monitoring a handful of pitchers coming back from injury, not the least of whom is ace right-hander Ben Sheets. Continuing his smooth recovery from off-season back surgery, Sheets threw off the mound Friday for the third time and was pleased with the results.
"I feel good, much better than last year," said Sheets, who threw fastballs and changeups for about 7 minutes. "I'm not even sore."
The Brewers plan to ease Sheets into regular workouts, however, particularly the daily fielding drills in which a pitcher must do a lot of bending to pick up balls.
"We're going to take it easy with him for a while," Yost said. "I want him ready by April 1, not March 1."
Sheets agreed that it is better to be cautious in the early days of camp rather than suffer a setback before exhibition season begins.
"I've got to treat it like my back is still bad," he said. "Heck, it's a wrecked car that got repaired, not a new car. I'm going to have to be smart about it the rest of my career."
The only damper as the Brewers prepared to open camp in the so-called Valley of the Sun is the weather. It has rained hard, off and on, for several days, creating local flooding, and the forecast for the first week of camp calls for several days of rain.
"I think it's going to be a rough spring weather-wise," Yost said. "I just have that feeling. It's been raining here since the start of the year."
When apprised that rain actually is welcomed by residents here after several mostly dry years, Yost said, "I'm sorry for their drought. But we've been in a 12-year drought. We have work to do."
<b><font size=4>Honing a double edge</font>
Brewers figure Capellan could start or close</b>
Phoenix - No one in the Milwaukee Brewers' spring camp knows more about what Jose Capellan can do to hitters than Victor Santos.
Santos, who broke through in 2004 to win a job in the Brewers' starting rotation, played several seasons of winter ball with Capellan in the Dominican Republic. There, he watched Capellan lay the groundwork for becoming the top pitching prospect in Atlanta's farm system.
"I know he throws about 110 mph," said Santos, exaggerating just a bit. "He has command of his pitches and he's very aggressive.
"I was very impressed. He goes right after people. I've seen him. I know how live his arm is."
The Brewers didn't need Santos' scouting report when deciding to trade closer Dan Kolb to the Braves for Capellan at the winter meetings in December. After some of the top pitching prospects in his farm system were shelved by injuries, general manager Doug Melvin jumped at the chance to acquire one of the more heralded arms in all of the minor leagues.
"The one thing that was attractive was that if he doesn't pan out over the long haul as a starter, he's got a good enough arm that we could use him as a closer in the bullpen," Melvin said. "I never really thought he'd be available.
"We checked everything. He had Tommy John surgery back in 2001 but he came back from that and was throwing as high as 100 mph last year. The reports had him with No. 1 or No. 2 stuff (in a major-league rotation)."
What's not to like? Not only does the 6-foot-4, 235-pound right-hander get his fastball to the plate consistently in the mid- to high-90 mph range, he has a spine-jarring curveball and is working on improving his changeup.
As pitchers threw batting practice Monday in the Brewers' first official workout of the spring, hitters were told what pitches were coming. That didn't prevent Capellan from getting a fastball in on the hands of outfielder Corey Hart, one of the organization's top prospects.
Hart quickly exited the batting cage, shaking his hands.
"That one stung a little," Hart said. "He throws pretty hard."
One other detail about that session. Pitchers were told to back it off to about 80% of normal effort.
While pitching at three levels of Atlanta's farm system in 2004, Capellan compiled a 14-4 record and 2.33 earned run average, with 152 strikeouts in 139 innings. He walked only 45 hitters but here's the startling statistic: only one home run allowed, that coming at Class AA Greenville.
Capellan, 24, finally hit the wall when summoned to Atlanta for three outings (two starts) in September, allowing 14 hits and 10 runs in eight innings. He was not the first young pitcher to be greeted rudely in his first foray in the majors, however.
Understandably, Capellan was taken aback somewhat upon learning the Braves had traded him to the Brewers.
"I was surprised because the Braves said I will pitch in the big leagues with them," said Capellan, who knows enough English to hold a conversation.
"But I'm happy to be here. I see a big opportunity here. The Braves had five starting pitchers. There was no place for me there."
As Melvin noted, the Brewers think they have at least two chances for Capellan to be an impact player. They'll give him every chance to make their starting rotation this spring, with hopes of having a young stud for years to come.
Should that plan unravel for whatever reason, the club's brain trust thinks Capellan could emerge as a dominant closer, overmatching hitters for the final outs of a game.
"I talked to a lot of people in Atlanta about him and it was split," manager Ned Yost said. "Some people thought he'd be a heck of a closer. Some people thought he could be a top starter.
"As tough as it is to find quality starting pitchers these days, that's a good place to start."
<b><font size=4>Young Capellan aims for stardom</font>
Talented right-hander must develop other pitches</b>
PHOENIX -- Once the crown jewel of the Atlanta Braves organization, and now boasting a similar status within Milwaukee's minor league ranks, there are few questions about Jose Capellan's ability to throw off the mound.
He's poised, his delivery is smooth and consistent and his fastball has been clocked as high as 100 mph. Capellan usually stays within the 95-97 mph range with the heater, but the 6-foot-4, 235-pounder once said he hit 102 mph, and he wasn't bragging.
"I am here to see if I can win a starting job and that's my goal," he said. "That's what I want to do. I have worked hard to get here, and now it is time to show I can do it."
Thus it will be Capellan's ability to pitch -- not only to throw -- that will determine if the 24-year-old right-hander will crack a big league rotation, be a part of the bullpen or start at Triple-A when Spring Training ends.
"I can't say his velocity does not matter, but No. 1 for him is his command, No. 2 is movement, No. 3 is consistency and then the velocity," Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux said. "Players define their own roles in each ballclub. In the end, you would like to think he is a starter, but is that going to happen right away? I don't know. All I know is he's been a pleasure to work with. He's very competitive and he seems very studious as well."
Capellan, who came to Milwaukee from Atlanta as part of the trade that sent All-Star closer Dan Kolb to the Braves, carries a quiet confidence, but is not so cocky that he believes he can blow his fastball by every hitter that steps in the batter's box. In addition to his fastball, Capellan also features a curveball, a two-seam fastball and a changeup. The other pitches do not yet measure up to the quality of his fastball, but he is making progress.
"This is a great opportunity for me and it is great to be here," Capellan said. "I have a chance and it all depends on me to do the job. I have all the responsibility on me."
The Brewers have welcomed Capellan with open arms, but parting with Kolb, a pitcher Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin has known since both worked in the Texas Rangers organization, was difficult. However, the trade was likely made easier to swallow when Melvin looked at the free agent market for starting pitching and realized most starters were too expensive for his club's payroll, the smallest in the big leagues last season.
Watching Capellan throw this week at Maryvale Baseball Park likely helped Melvin with any Kolb separation anxiety, as well.
"When you get a chance to get a good young arm and go forward and build on your club, it was the move we chose to make," Melvin said. "He's got a plus arm, a good body and the ball comes out easy. His changeup and breaking ball need work, but he is the kind of arm you get in the first round of the draft and develop.
We don't know what is going to happen, but he has all the materials and tools to be a good one."
Capellan knows as much and is working hard on his other pitches. But marginal progress with his repertoire might not be enough to land a big league job. With Ben Sheets and Doug Davis as the only locks in the starting rotation, Capellan is competing for a spot against a large group that includes Victor Santos, Chris Capuano, Ben Hendrickson, Wes Obermueller, Gary Glover, and Jorge De La Rosa.
Capellan could land a job in the bullpen -- maybe. Melvin envisions Capellan as an Armando Benitez or a Francisco Cordero-type of closer in the future, but only if he does not make it as a starter.
"I think they brought me over here as a starter, but the decision to go to the bullpen or relieving or closing is something the organization makes, not me," Capellan said. "I am happy with how they want to use me. I just want to pitch."
Make no mistake about it, throwing a baseball is what Capellan does best, and it is all he ever wanted to do. He never dreamed of being a doctor like his mother or a businessman like his father in the Dominican Republic.
"For me, I always wanted to be a big leaguer," he said. "Everybody's dream is to be in the Major Leagues and [for me] it still is. I'm not an established Major Leaguer yet."
Maybe not, but he got an early start.
As a teenager, Capellan signed with the Braves in 1998 for about $10,000 and spent the next two seasons pitching for the club's team in the Dominican Summer League. He was on a roll when he injured his elbow in rookie ball in 2001 and missed the entire 2002 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Upon his return in 2003, Capellan posted a 3.80 ERA in 47 innings.
"Going a year and a half without pitching was hard," he said. "I thought my career was over, but all the coaches said I could come back and I would be fine. I thank God they were right."
Indeed, last season he almost made Atlanta's big league club out of Spring Training as a reliever. He didn't stick, but went on to post a 14-4 record with a 2.32 ERA in 24 games at three different levels of the Braves minor league system.
In his Major League debut, Capellan allowed two runs and four hits in five innings in a game against Montreal in September. But he lasted just one inning, allowing seven earned runs and six hits, in his second start for the Braves in a game against the Mets on three days' rest. He also pitched two innings of relief in October against the Cubs.
Capellan may be green, but he is not naive. He knows his big league numbers to this point are not pretty -- 0-1, 11.25 ERA in eight innings -- but he chooses not to dwell on statistics.
"I think I did fine," he said. "I didn't get a decision in the first game, but I pitched fine. The second game, I didn't do well at all. That's life and sometimes it happens that way. Sometimes you have bad days, but it really was not as a bad as a lot of people think. I recovered from that."
Exactly how far he has come since his fireballing days last September is what the Brewers staff wants to know. For his part, Capellan is determined to show them. And so far, he appears on the right path.
"You have to have more than one pitch, and I know that," Capellan said. "No matter how hard you throw, you can't only have a fastball and be successful. The hitters are too intelligent."
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=364890#post364890post364890 target=_blank>Brewers look for starters</a>
<b><font size=4>Capellan might stick in relief</font>
Flamethrowing righty could also end up at Triple-A</b>
PHOENIX -- Right now, Brewers manager Ned Yost is leaning toward breaking camp at the end of the month with fireballer Jose Capellan on the roster. But he is leaning toward using him as a reliever.
"He's a guy you would probably like to bring on your club as a reliever, and maybe in the middle of May start lengthening him out a little bit," Yost said. "Go into June and have him start [games] from that point on. Instead of starting him early and having him wear down, you'd like to build him into starting a little later and have him strong all the way up to the end of the year."
Yost thinks Capellan wore down at the end of 2004. In 147 2/3 innings at Class A Myrtle Beach, Double-A Greenville, Triple-A Richmond and Atlanta, the big right-hander notched 156 total strikeouts. But his strikeouts-to-walks ratio waned, a sign of both fatigue and, more likely, better competition.
Capellan is scheduled to follow Chris Capuano in Friday's split-squad game at Maryvale Baseball Park against the Seattle Mariners. It will be Yost's first chance to see Capellan in game action.
"He's come in with so much composure, and his work ethic is so impressive to me," Yost said. "I see him in the weight room all the time, doing his conditioning work. He's a young guy trying to make an impression, and he's doing it in the exact proper fashion."
Yost has yet to decide how many pitchers he will carry on the 25-man roster, and Capellan's fate may rest partly on that decision. Depending on who makes the starting rotation, Capellan may find himself starting the season at Triple-A Nashville.
"It wouldn't kill us," Yost said. "If he's not ready for this level then that's something we'll surely do. I mean, he started in A-ball last year and made a very quick rise."
<b><font size=4>Questions about Capellan</font></b>
TUCSON -- The Brewers are still trying to figure out where hard-throwing Jose Capellan fits in the puzzle.
Capellan remains an enigma with two weeks of Spring Training games left. There is no question about his arm and ability, but other questions abound: What should the Brewers do with Capellan immediately? Does he require more minor-league seasoning?
"We're still trying to determine," Brewers manager Ned Yost said on Thursday. "Do we want to start him? Do we want to relieve him? Or start him in Triple-A or whatever? We don't know what we're going to do."
"We're trying to figure what's best for him and us. We're still looking to see where exactly he fits in for all of us. We want to do what's right for him, and for our organization."
Capellan, who was acquired in a December trade with the Braves for Dan Kolb, made his first start on Thursday and had mixed results against the Diamondbacks, allowing nine hits and six runs in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two, walked none and had a wild pitch, getting a no-decision in the 13-10 Brewers' loss in 10 innings.
"I was trying to throw my fastball inside, and it just stayed in the middle of the plate," Capellan said. "I had trouble commanding my fastball."
Troy Glaus inflicted the most damage off Capellan, hitting a two-run homer and a two-run double.
"The home run was a hanging curveball," Capellan said. "The double was off a fastball. I thought it was a good pitch, but sometimes you've got to give credit to the hitter."
Yost assessed Capellan's performance as "just OK."
"He threw two many pitches over the good part of the plate," Yost said. "He turned it up the last two innings. He threw some good changeups and some good curveballs, but he was too fat with his fastball. He was getting it over, but not in a good spot."
While Capellan's fastball has lit up radar guns, his changeup remains a work in progress.
"He's going to have to get a straight changeup, which he will," Yost said. "They've been working real hard with his changeup, trying to get him a feel for an offspeed pitch."
Capellan, who was mostly a starter in the minors, is 24 and started last season in Class A Myrtle Beach, but by September he was in the Majors. For the season, he was a combined 14-5 with a 2.80 ERA. His resume, however, includes only 19 games above Class A.
"In a perfect world, we would hope he could go down and pitch a little bit in the minor leagues and get ready to go," Brewers third base coach Rich Dauer said.
If Capellan does start with Indianapolis, the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, he may not want to take out a long-term apartment lease.
"It might not be real long at all," Dauer said. "He's got upside, definitely a high ceiling. He throws hard and is real composed. He's still got a lot of learning to do."
Said bullpen coach Bill Castro, "From what I've seen of him, he has a good future ahead of him. It's just a matter of getting experience and confidence at this level. If he puts it together, he can come fast. He's got the stuff."
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=369990#post369990post369990 target=_blank>Number five position still up for grabs</a>
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=371072#post371072post371072 target=_blank>Brewers Send Pitching Prospects to Minors</a>
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=371652#post371652 target=_blank>Minors: Top Prospects To Begin Season With Sounds</a>
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=374712#post374712 target=_blank>Is Milwaukee next?</a>
<b><font size=4>Getting scratched</font></b>
Pitching prospect Jose Capellan was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday night with Class AAA Nashville because of a blister on his pitching hand. It was not known if Capellan would miss another start.
Reliever Justin Lehr, one of the last pitchers cut in the Brewers camp, had a nightmarish outing in that game, allowing nine hits and seven runs in one-third of an inning.
<b><font size=4>In the minors</font></b>
Right-handed pitching prospect Jose Capellan was scratched from his Tuesday night start for Triple-A Nashville in favor of Cliff Weibl. The team billed it as a precautionary move; Capellan left his previous start with a blister on his pitching hand. Nashville suffered an 11-2 loss as reliever Justin Lehr surrendered a grand slam. ... Double-A Huntsville beat Jacksonville, 3-2, the Stars' first win after an 0-5 start. The Stars were shut out three times in their first four games under new manager Don Money. "His mood is probably foul," Yost said. "I know mine would be." ... High Class A Brevard County also scored a 3-2 win while Low Class A West Virginia was limited to three hits in an 8-0 loss at Lexington.
<b><font size=4>The next step</font></b>
Twenty-four-year-old Jose Capellan, perhaps the Brewers' top pitching prospect, made his 11th start on Friday night. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said he instructed the team's Minor League staff to begin upping Capellan's workload.
That seems to indicate that the Brewers are committed to Capellan as a starter. When he was acquired from the Braves for closer Dan Kolb at the Winter Meetings, some observers wondered if Milwaukee would convert the hard-throwing right-hander into a closer.
Going into his start on Friday, Capellan had surrendered two or fewer runs in eight of his 10 starts. But he has averaged only 4.9 innings per start.
<b><font size=4>New role for Capellan</font>
Righty moves to bullpen at Class AAA Nashville</b>
St. Petersburg, Fla. - Right-hander Jose Capellan, the pitching prospect the Brewers acquired from Atlanta over the winter for all-star closer Dan Kolb, has been moved to the bullpen at Class AAA Nashville after making little progress as a starting pitcher.
"He hasn't been quite as effective as a starter as we hoped, so we decided to put him in the pen," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin. "That doesn't mean he'll end up there for good. It's just something we're trying for now.
"It's not a big deal. He can always go back and start. Let's see how this works."
Capellan, 24, was 4-2 with a 5.16 earned run average in 12 starts at Nashville. In 59 1/3 innings, he has allowed 63 hits and 27 walks while logging 42 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .279 against him.
The Dominican Republic native has shown only brief flashes of the pitcher the Brewers thought they were getting from the Braves. The velocity on his fastball has been mostly in the low 90s (mph), not the mid to high 90s as in the past.
Capellan also has been unable to come up with a consistent second pitch, struggling to throw his curveball and changeup for strikes. In short, he hasn't been the pitcher the Brewers expected after he roared through the Braves' system in 2004, going 14-4 with a 2.32 ERA at three levels, with 152 strikeouts in 139 2/3 innings.
When the Brewers acquired Capellan, there was talk that he might be converted to a closer at some point. But, with Jeff Bennett and Mike Adams pitching in late relief at Nashville, Melvin said Capellan would not necessarily be cast in that role.
"He's just going to the bullpen," Melvin said. "It won't be a specific role. He may eventually (be a closer).
"This is something he wanted to do. I talked with (Nashville pitching coach) Stan Kyles and he said Jose was all pumped up about it. We hope his enthusiasm carries over.
"He got a little frustrated (as a starter), trying to throw as many pitches as he can. We just want him to be more comfortable and get back to throwing like he can."
Capellan will be replaced in the Nashville rotation by right-hander Gary Glover, who recently was sent down by the Brewers.
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=394542&posted=1#post394542 target=_blank>Minor league report: Brewers looking ahead</a>
<b><font size=4>Happy 'Cappy'</font></b>
Since moving from the starting rotation to a late-inning reliever at Class AAA Nashville, pitching prospect Jose Capellan has been sensational. Capellan has not allowed a run in 14 innings out of the bullpen and has converted all four of his save opportunities.
Capellan struck up a friendship with Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro during spring training and calls Castro after every game in which he pitches. Since Capellan moved to the bullpen, Castro said the excitement in his voice has been noticeable.
"He sounds a lot different than before," Castro said. "He's a lot happier. This is what he wanted to do. He calls me and lets me know what's going on."
<b><font size=4>Keeping tabs</font></b>
When the Brewers acquired hard-throwing Braves prospect Jose Capellan last December, some scouts predicted he would eventually become a closer. Well, he has become a very effective one.
Capellan earned the win in relief Monday night and has not allowed a run in nine games spanning 14 innings since becoming the Triple-A Nashville Sounds' closer. He is 4-for-4 in save chances.
"I know when he pitches, because he calls me," said Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro, who worked with Capellan in Spring Training. "He's a lot different now than he was before. He sounds happier."
Capellan did not get a chance to notch his fifth save on Tuesday. Nashville's game at New Orleans was postponed by the impending arrival of tropical storm Cindy. The teams will try to play a doubleheader on Wednesday.
<b><font size=4>Capellan fitting well in new pitching role</font>
Has recorded five saves since his shift to bullpen</b>
It's not clear whose idea it was for Jose Capellan to move out of the Nashville Sounds starting rotation and into the bullpen, but it is clear that the switch has been a success.
Posting a 4-2 record with a
5.16 ERA in 12 starts, Capellan went into relief during mid-June and has responded with 27 strikeouts in
27¤ innings. He has five saves, a
1-1 record and a 1.32 ERA in 19 appearances.
"He's adapted well to his new role," said Gord Ash, assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, during a recent visit to Greer Stadium. "When we got him, a lot of people thought his best role was the 'pen.
"We felt we needed to exhaust the opportunity to use him as a starter, but we had the hole there. If a player isn't comfortable in a role, isn't maximizing in a role … it became obvious his preference was to pitch out of the 'pen, and it's obviously been a good move."
The switch to the bullpen comes a year after Capellan enjoyed a stellar season as a starter. In 2004, he won
14 games at three different minor league levels with a 2.32 ERA. He earned a September call-up with Atlanta and was ranked No. 25 among minor league prospects by Baseball America.
But he didn't get off to quite the same start this spring. And it may have been mental as much as anything.
"He came in with it in the back of his mind that he was going to the 'pen," said Reid Nichols, Milwaukee's director of player development. "He was wanting to do that. It makes sense to try, so we decided to do that.
"He's done a good job. His pitches are a little more crisp. He's a little more into what he's doing. There's a little more passion there."
Despite starting all but a handful of games through the first five years of his professional career, the 24-year-old had winter ball experience out of the bullpen, so the move wasn't completely foreign to him.
"It hasn't been a major change," said the native of the Dominican Republic who has gone back there and played during the offseason.
"A lot of scouts, people that know baseball told me I had pretty good stuff to be a closer. I never thought about it because, coming through the minor leagues, I'd been a starter my whole life.
"Now I'm in the bullpen with a chance to be a closer. I feel comfortable starting, I feel comfortable relieving, and if it comes back around to me starting again, I'll be fine."
It's not uncommon for major league relievers — and closers in particular — to come through the minors as a starter. It gives them a chance to pitch more innings, build up their arms and refine their fundamentals and pitches.
"As a young guy, you'd like to see him start," Ash said. "You get more opportunities to work on your pitches. In the eighth and ninth (innings), closing games, you have to go with what works instead of what you need to work on."
While Capellan won't say he was pitching with an eye on the bullpen — "I think I'll just leave that alone," he said — it's agreed that the move could be the key to his career.
"You've got to do the most to get the most out of what you have," Nichols said.
"There became diminishing returns issues," Ash said. "And there's still a need for arms that can dominate the back end of the 'pen. Power arms in the 'pen, you can never go wrong with."
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=410899#post410899 target=_blank>Pitchers Capellan, Davis called up with Hart</a>
<b><font size=4>Capellan at home in bullpen</font>
Hard thrower continues turnaround in winter league action</b>
MILWAUKEE -- When the Brewers traded their All-Star closer Dan Kolb in late 2004 for the Atlanta Braves' top pitching prospect, some thought Jose Capellan was better suited to a relief role.
Count Capellan among them.
"From a personal standpoint, I think that's what he wanted to be doing," said Frank Kremblas, who managed Capellan for more than half of 2005 at Triple-A Nashville. "I think he enjoys playing every day -- he gets a little bored otherwise."
Capellan, who made a successful transition from the starting rotation to the bullpen, is among a handful of Brewers playing in the Dominican Winter League. Through Wednesday, he had a 2.00 ERA in 18 innings over five games for Los Gigantes. He figures to compete for a spot in the Brewers bullpen during Spring Training.
Acquired from Atlanta in a December 2004 trade for Kolb, who was coming off a 39-save season, Capellan was a bit of a Spring Training disappointment. His fastball topped out in the low 90s instead of the 97-100 mph range he had flashed in past appearances, including the 2004 All-Star Futures Game in Houston.
Capellan was assigned to Triple-A Nashville and went 4-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 12 starts. Kremblas said Capellan consistently told Sounds pitching coach Stan Kyles he would rather be relieving, and the organization obliged in June.
"He's a lot different now than he was before," said Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro, who kept tabs with Capellan after his switch to the bullpen. "He sounds happier."
He was also more effective. Capellan responded by posting a 1.44 ERA and six saves in 24 relief appearances. That earned him a promotion to Milwaukee to finish the season, where he went 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 17 games.
"He opened up a little more as a person and I think that helped him as a pitcher," Kremblas said. "He was a guy trying to get back to the big leagues, and a lot of the Dominican players are taught early on that the only way to do that is to put up numbers. He became a little too concerned with the results instead of working on things."
Capellan's fastball was back up to the 94-96 mph range by season's end and Brewers manager Ned Yost used him in a number of tight situations, especially while setup men Matt Wise and Julio Santana were lost to injury. Capellan did not allow an earned run in any of his eight road outings, and his ERA over his final 10 games was 2.00.
"He has a little bit of deception in his delivery," Kremblas said. "I've watched him enough and caught him enough to know that he's tough to hit. As he gets more confident and comfortable, his fastball could go up another 1-2 mph."
While pitching as a starter in Spring Training, Capellan was working on a changeup that showed some promise. But after moving to the bullpen, he worked almost exclusively with a fastball and slider.
Capellan and Kolb could be reunited in 2006. The Brewers re-acquired Kolb at the Winter Meetings for right-hander Wes Obermueller and are working to re-sign him without going to arbitration. Wise will also be back as a setup man for closer Derrick Turnbow.
The Brewers may also look at righty Mike Adams, who was tabbed as the team's closer when Kolb was traded to the Braves but never cemented his hold of that role. Adams had a 2.70 ERA in 13 appearances with the Brewers, but walked 10 batters in 13 1/3 innings and fell out of Yost's favor. He was demoted to Nashville on May 27.
With the Sounds, Adams was slowed by shoulder tightness and an oblique injury and went 3-4 with a 5.75 ERA and two saves in 26 relief stints. He is also pitching in the Dominican, and through Wednesday was 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA for Manati. He allowed 30 hits in his first 20 1/3 innings.
"I've always thought Mike was a competitor," Kremblas said. "But when he loses his fastball command, he has to have something else to go to. When his fastball command is on, he is almost unhittable. I've seen guys walk back to the dugout after facing him just shaking their heads because they can't see the ball."
Outfield prospect Nelson Cruz is also at work this winter. He batted .304 in his first 115 at-bats and led Los Gigantes -- the same team Capellan plays for -- with nine home runs and 26 RBIs.
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=443059#post443059 target=_blank>Brewers sign three players</a>
<b><font size=4>Bouncing back</font></b>
After giving up a run, three hits and a walk in his spring debut last week, right-hander Jose Capellan worked a 1-2-3 inning Sunday.
"He was popping it up there at about 96 mph," Yost said. "It was a nice, easy 96."
When he was acquired from Atlanta for Dan Kolb before last season, Capellan was billed as an up-and-coming star with a "blow it by them" fastball that approached 100 mph. That role ended up being filled by Derrick Turnbow, while Capellan threw in the low to mid-90-mph range with somewhat erratic location.
"Proving, once again, you can't believe what you read," pitching coach Mike Maddux said. "I actually thought Jose was a guy that kind of got into sacrificing 'stuff' for command. I'm big on command. He wanted to please everybody involved instead of being his own guy. Somewhere, lost in translation, was 'You rip your stuff to the spot. You rip it in there to the spot.' That's commanding your fastball. I think he was trying to command somebody else's fastball, like, 'Let me drive it up a gnat's butt,' instead of, 'Let me just heave and ho and get it right in there.'
"Don't be that fine with it. Move the catcher and knock him over. When he pitched more aggressively out of the bullpen, something started clicking. Later in the year, he was strong and the more I saw him, the more I liked him. I think he has a lot of up side. I saw him blow away some good hitters."
<b><font size=4>Back in business</font></b>
Another pitcher ready to return is Brewers reliever Jose Capellan, who was not available for the Giants series because of stiffness in his forearm and shoulder.
The injury developed when Capellan pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the Brewers' 10-5 victory Sunday at Arizona.
"You just don't bang a guy out there," Yost said. "It's tight for a reason. He's the most durable guy we've had down there."
Capellan has posted a 1.50 ERA over his last 14 appearances, allowing three earned runs in 18 innings. He has allowed seven of 21 inherited runners to score this season.
Transaction: Jose Capellan
Player: Jose Capellan
Date: 07/28/2006
Action: Placed on the 15-day DL
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Transaction: Jose Capellan
Player: Jose Capellan
Date: 08/09/2006
Action: Activated from the 15-day DL
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Brewers sign RHP Capellan, 4 others (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=509119#post509119)
Around the Horn: Bullpen (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=509524#post509524)
Bullpen delivers high heat index (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=509694#post509694)
Player: Jose Capellan
Date: 04/01/2007
Action: Optioned
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Nashville Sounds
Player: Jose Capellan
Date: 04/17/2007
Action: Placed on Restricted List
From Team: Nashville Sounds
To Team: Nashville Sounds
Player: Jose Capellan
Date: 04/19/2007
Action: Activated from Restricted List
From Team: Nashville Sounds
To Team: Nashville Sounds
Player: Jose Capellan
Date: 05/31/2007
Action: Recalled
From Team: Nashville Sounds
To Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Capellan traded to Detroit for minor league LHP Chris Cody (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=515627#post515627)
Player: Jose Capellan
Date: 07/01/2007
Action: Traded
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Detroit Tigers
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