Kyle Weiland

Weiland had a rude introduction to hitters at the major league level in 2011, after doing some good work at Triple-A Pawtucket. He struck out 126 in 128.1 innings for the PawSox, but also had trouble with control (3.86 BB/9IP). The control problems traveled with him to Boston, where he allowed too many baserunners and didn't consistently pitch out of jams. He has enough pitches to be a starter, but can he command them? Weiland will have a better opportunity of remaining in the rotation after getting traded to Houston in December.

Weiland struggled initially in his first few starts at Double-A Portland, but improved along the way and likely earned himself a promotion to Triple-A for 2011. It's the second straight season of the struggle-early/improve-later pattern for Weiland. His best pitch is the fastball and it gets him a lot of strikeouts. It can also be wild, producing walks, or not in the right part of the strike zone. The organization has invited him to the major-league camp in spring training, and they'll be interested to see how he fares against those advanced hitters. If he can't develop better command of the fastball or good secondary offerings in 2011, we may see him move to a bullpen role.

Weiland, 23, is an erstwhile reliever who started 26 games for High-A Salem in 2009. After a slow start, Weiland finished up strong and is on target to start the 2010 season in Double-A with the Portland Sea Dogs. His fastball is top notch, with good command and ground-ball inducing. He'll need to develop more consistency in his slider and change, with the ability to command each pitch, as he faces advanced hitters. When he gets in trouble, it's because of the secondary pitches.