Brian Fuentes
Full Name: Brian Christopher Fuentes
Position: P
Born: August 9, 1975 in Merced, California
Height: 6-4 Weight: 220
Bats: Left Throws: Left
High School: Merced High School (Merced,CA)
College: Merced College
Drafted: Selected by Seattle Mariners in 25th round (678th overall) of 1995 amateur entry draft (June Regular Phase)
Position: P
Born: August 9, 1975 in Merced, California
Height: 6-4 Weight: 220
Bats: Left Throws: Left
High School: Merced High School (Merced,CA)
College: Merced College
Drafted: Selected by Seattle Mariners in 25th round (678th overall) of 1995 amateur entry draft (June Regular Phase)
The Rockies' bullpen is anchored by Brian Fuentes. Early on in the 2006 season when the team was playing better than .500 ball, he was virtually unhittable... yet he finished the season 18th in the majors with only 30 saves. That save total didn't improve from 2005 as he encountered some bumps and bruises in the second half as did the rest of the team, in fact, none of his overall pitching numbers showed improvement from the previous season.
At age 31, Fuentes has probably reached his peak. He can still be devastating and he is still very valuable but don't expect him to become the dominant type closer that saves 45 games per year. For some reason, he has a tendency to go thru some horrible stretches that make him appear to be very hittable which kills his confidence. He also has nagging habit of hitting right-handed batters with his slider and we all know what a killer it is to give up free bases late in close games.
YEAR TEAM W L ERA G GS SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO
2001 Mariners 1 1 4.63 10 0 0 1 11.2 6 6 6 2 3 8 10
2002 Rockies 2 0 4.73 31 0 0 0 26.2 25 14 14 4 3 13 38
2003 Rockies 3 3 2.75 75 0 4 6 75.1 64 24 23 7 6 34 82
2004 Rockies 2 4 5.64 47 0 0 1 44.2 46 30 28 5 4 19 48
2005 Rockies 2 5 2.91 78 0 31 34 74.1 59 25 24 6 10 34 91
2006 Rockies 3 4 3.44 66 0 30 36 65.1 50 25 25 8 6 26 73
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Career Totals 13 17 3.62 307 0 65 78 298.0 250 124 120 32 32 134 342
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2006
No one single player can make as big an impact on the Rockies future successes or failures than Brian Fuentes can. With his emergence as a bona fide closer, the Rox have a decent chance at moving up the power ladder in the National League. He can single handily increase the win total by as much as 20 games because of his ability to close a game that in the past were given away for losses.
"He is our exclamation point," said manager Clint Hurdle, "Everybody else sets up before him. He's the guy we can build around. Having (a legitimate closer) is a position we haven't been in. It is a good place to start." Rocky
Fuentes has a fastball from the left side that tops out at 92-94 mph and busts up into a left-handed hitters hands and moves away to righties. He also has a nice, hard slider that breaks out of the strike zone away from the lefties and into the back leg of a righty. His whipping delivery also forces a lefty to bail once in a while because the ball tends to move across the hitting plain and away very quickly. He also showed he can get out of a jam, thanks, in big part, to his ability to get the strike out. And he has been able to maintain a markedly calm demeanor, even when he finds himself in a self-created, ninth-inning jams.
At age 31, Fuentes has probably reached his peak. He can still be devastating and he is still very valuable but don't expect him to become the dominant type closer that saves 45 games per year. For some reason, he has a tendency to go thru some horrible stretches that make him appear to be very hittable which kills his confidence. He also has nagging habit of hitting right-handed batters with his slider and we all know what a killer it is to give up free bases late in close games.
YEAR TEAM W L ERA G GS SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO
2001 Mariners 1 1 4.63 10 0 0 1 11.2 6 6 6 2 3 8 10
2002 Rockies 2 0 4.73 31 0 0 0 26.2 25 14 14 4 3 13 38
2003 Rockies 3 3 2.75 75 0 4 6 75.1 64 24 23 7 6 34 82
2004 Rockies 2 4 5.64 47 0 0 1 44.2 46 30 28 5 4 19 48
2005 Rockies 2 5 2.91 78 0 31 34 74.1 59 25 24 6 10 34 91
2006 Rockies 3 4 3.44 66 0 30 36 65.1 50 25 25 8 6 26 73
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Totals 13 17 3.62 307 0 65 78 298.0 250 124 120 32 32 134 342
-----------------
2006
No one single player can make as big an impact on the Rockies future successes or failures than Brian Fuentes can. With his emergence as a bona fide closer, the Rox have a decent chance at moving up the power ladder in the National League. He can single handily increase the win total by as much as 20 games because of his ability to close a game that in the past were given away for losses.
"He is our exclamation point," said manager Clint Hurdle, "Everybody else sets up before him. He's the guy we can build around. Having (a legitimate closer) is a position we haven't been in. It is a good place to start." Rocky
Fuentes has a fastball from the left side that tops out at 92-94 mph and busts up into a left-handed hitters hands and moves away to righties. He also has a nice, hard slider that breaks out of the strike zone away from the lefties and into the back leg of a righty. His whipping delivery also forces a lefty to bail once in a while because the ball tends to move across the hitting plain and away very quickly. He also showed he can get out of a jam, thanks, in big part, to his ability to get the strike out. And he has been able to maintain a markedly calm demeanor, even when he finds himself in a self-created, ninth-inning jams.
Brian Fuentes Bio's:
In the News
6/30/06.. addition.. Post
At the 2001 winter meetings, the Mariners shipped Brian Fuentes along with Denny Stark and Jose Paniagua to the Rockies for third baseman Jeff Cirillo. Cirillo was a two-year mistake for the Mariners, hitting .234 with eight home runs. Stark won eight games as a rookie and Fuentes is racing toward his second consecutive all-star berth.
"We have made our share of clunkers, but that's a trade that really worked out," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said of arguably his best deal. "That's why you include multiple players. We liked Fuentes the most. We just felt like he hadn't hit yet."
Fuentes' evolution required patience. During his first year with the Rockies, the Colorado Springs apartment guide was always within arm's reach as he bounced back and forth, plagued by control problems. But he gradually grew more comfortable with his Frisbee-like delivery and added a nasty slider and changeup to his repertoire.
2/08/06... addition..MLB.com
I had no reservations," said Fuentes about his reaction when first asked to consider playing for Team USA. "It's going to be awesome playing with the other American players and just getting to be able to take it all in. I look forward to sitting back and watching and learning some more, picking those guys' brains a little bit."
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12/28/05...addition...
Ranking in Baseball Weekly:
19. Brian Fuentes, Rockies: Coors Field was no deterrent for the 30-year-old left-hander, who took over as Rockies closer after Chin-hui Tsao tore a shoulder muscle. Fuentes posted a 2.91 ERA in the thin air of Colorado. He finished his first season as closer with 31 saves in 34 chances and 91 strikeouts and 59 hits allowed in 74 1/3 innings.
12/20/05...addition... Rocky
Late Monday night, the Rockies were willing to open their checkbook, signing closer Brian Fuentes to a two- year, $5.5 million contract.
Fuentes, who was eligible for salary arbitration, will earn $2 million in 2006 and $3.5 million in 2007.
11/11/05... addition...Rocky
"The stability Brian Fuentes brings to the end of the game is not something we encountered the three previous seasons," Manager Clint Hurdle said. "He brought a normalcy to the end of the game." Fuentes converted 31 of 34 save opportunities (33 opportunities after becoming the closer), the fifth-best success ratio in the NL, and averaged 11.02 strikeouts per nine innings, third best among NL relievers behind Brad Lidge and Rudy Seanez.
At the 2001 winter meetings, the Mariners shipped Brian Fuentes along with Denny Stark and Jose Paniagua to the Rockies for third baseman Jeff Cirillo. Cirillo was a two-year mistake for the Mariners, hitting .234 with eight home runs. Stark won eight games as a rookie and Fuentes is racing toward his second consecutive all-star berth.
"We have made our share of clunkers, but that's a trade that really worked out," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said of arguably his best deal. "That's why you include multiple players. We liked Fuentes the most. We just felt like he hadn't hit yet."
Fuentes' evolution required patience. During his first year with the Rockies, the Colorado Springs apartment guide was always within arm's reach as he bounced back and forth, plagued by control problems. But he gradually grew more comfortable with his Frisbee-like delivery and added a nasty slider and changeup to his repertoire.
2/08/06... addition..MLB.com
I had no reservations," said Fuentes about his reaction when first asked to consider playing for Team USA. "It's going to be awesome playing with the other American players and just getting to be able to take it all in. I look forward to sitting back and watching and learning some more, picking those guys' brains a little bit."
-----------
12/28/05...addition...
Ranking in Baseball Weekly:
19. Brian Fuentes, Rockies: Coors Field was no deterrent for the 30-year-old left-hander, who took over as Rockies closer after Chin-hui Tsao tore a shoulder muscle. Fuentes posted a 2.91 ERA in the thin air of Colorado. He finished his first season as closer with 31 saves in 34 chances and 91 strikeouts and 59 hits allowed in 74 1/3 innings.
12/20/05...addition... Rocky
Late Monday night, the Rockies were willing to open their checkbook, signing closer Brian Fuentes to a two- year, $5.5 million contract.
Fuentes, who was eligible for salary arbitration, will earn $2 million in 2006 and $3.5 million in 2007.
11/11/05... addition...Rocky
"The stability Brian Fuentes brings to the end of the game is not something we encountered the three previous seasons," Manager Clint Hurdle said. "He brought a normalcy to the end of the game." Fuentes converted 31 of 34 save opportunities (33 opportunities after becoming the closer), the fifth-best success ratio in the NL, and averaged 11.02 strikeouts per nine innings, third best among NL relievers behind Brad Lidge and Rudy Seanez.