Robinson Tejeda

Tejeda began 2009 with the Royals before going on a rehab assignment at Double-A and quickly working his way back to the majors, spending the majority of the year as a reliever. Because of injuries to a number of starters, Tejeda was forced into the rotation where he amassed a 3-1 record with a 2.88 ERA in September, dominating the opposition in his first four starts before coming back to reality to finish out the year as his control left him. He lacks the consistent control (87:50 K:BB) necessary to be thought of as a back-of-the-rotation starter, so Tejeda will enter spring training fighting for a position on the 25-man roster and trying to secure a bullpen spot, possibly as the long reliever.

The Royals claimed Tejeda off waivers from the Rangers in June, and he put up a 1.04 WHIP and 41:19 K:BB ratio in 39.1 innings. His unrealistic .214 BABIP may have had something to do with his success, and he will surely regress from that number. However, he did a very good job of keeping the ball in the park, something he was unable to do while with Texas. He should pitch out of middle relief for the Royals in 2009.

Tejeda failed to resurface after a late July demotion to the minors following a dreadful 19-start season with Texas (95.1 innings, 110 hits, 60 walks, 69 K). His numbers in the minors (15 walks in 18.2 innings) weren't any better, and his early season numbers in Winter League play (11 walks, 17 innings) don't bode well either. He hasn't been able to throw strikes consistently, and he'll struggle until he figures it out.

Tejeda tanked during a five-start audition at the back end of the Texas rotation to start the year, and still experienced control issues (42 walks in 80 innings) at Triple-A Oklahoma City after his demotion. He was given another chance thanks largely to nice H/9 and K/9 numbers while in the minors and pitched better upon his recall. A tidy 1.13 ERA in five September starts masked a poor 1.41 WHIP and just 16 K in 32 innings during that time period. Two times during that period he allowed 10 hits in a 6.2 inning start and yielded just one earned run total. That kind of success simply isn't sustainable, and all signs point to another year with growing pains.

Did Tejeda overachieve in his rookie year, or has the hard young thrower come into his own? Coming off a decent Double-A season in 2004, Tejeda pitched a few games at Triple-A and was called up in May. He ended up sticking and tossed a surprisingly effective 85 2/3 innings. He has good stuff but needs to refine his control to be a 200-inning starter. Tejeda made it look easy in 2005, but is a risk for 2006, especially in light of his sore shoulder at the end of last season.

A young Dominican with a good arm, Tejeda ranked fourth in the Double-A Eastern League in strikeouts, but led the league with 29 gopher balls and posted a 5.15 ERA. He could surface as a reliever.