Jeremy Accardo

Accardo followed up his 2008 disappointment with another one in 2009. You can ignore the 2.55 ERA and concentrate on the 1.622 WHIP and the 6.2 BB/9IP to get a better read on his year. He was bounced around between Triple-A Las Vegas and Toronto and never carved out a role in the Toronto bullpen. He's clearly behind Scott Downs and Jason Frasor in the pecking order for saves, but a return to being a useful set-up option isn't out of the question.

Accardo's season came to an abrupt end in May after a nagging forearm injury landed him on the DL. You can ignore the ugly numbers (1.54 WHIP, 6.57 ERA), as he never was really healthy last year and a rebound is a good bet barring an injury. Watch the early returns this spring to make sure his arm is sound but he should be back as Toronto's main set-up guy behind B.J. Ryan.

Accardo used an early season-ending injury to closer B.J. Ryan as a spring board to a 30-save campaign of his own. Of some concern was his plummeting K/9 rate as the season wore on (38 strikeouts in 35.1 innings before the All-Star break; 19 in 32 innings after), but he was generally effective all season long despite the occasional hiccup. His 2006 season in Toronto wasn't nearly as effective (28.2 innings, 38 hits, 19 runs, 14 strikeouts), so there's not a lot to look back on to project future success here without some doubt. Ryan could be back as early as spring training, so be careful with Accardo in early drafts.

Accardo didn't pitch well for the Blue Jays (1.64 WHIP, 14 K in 28.2 innings) following a midseason trade from San Francisco, although a lot of the damage was limited to one outing in which he gave up five earned runs while getting only one out. He'll move up the pecking order in the bullpen by default following the departure of Justin Speier, but Accardo will slot in behind Jason Frasor and Brandon League at best.

Accardo might be a sleeper closer candidate on another team, but the signing of Tim Worrell buries him. Come '07, when the Giants are rebuilding, he'll have a shot.