RYAN VOGELSONG

7/22/77; '98 5th (San Francisco); Kutztown (PA) State U.
R/R; 6-3, 195

Level	W-L-Sv	G	GS	IP	H	BB	K	ERA
1998 A (SF)	0-0-0	4	4	19.0	23	4	26	7.58
1998 A- (SF)	6-1-0	10	10	56.0	37	16	66	1.77
1999 AA (SF)	0-2-6	6	6	28.1	40	7	15	7.31
1999 A (SF)	4-4-0	13	13	69.2	37	27	86	2.45
2000 NL (SF)	0-0-0	4	0	6.0	4	2	6	0.00
2000 AA (SF)	6-10-0	27	27	155.1	153	69	147	4.23
2001 NL	0-2-0	2	2	6.0	10	6	7	12.00
2001 NL (SF)	0-3-3	13	0	28.2	29	14	17	5.65
2001 AAA (SF)	3-3-0	10	10	58.0	35	18	53	2.79
2001 AAA	2-3-0	6	6	31.2	26	15	33	3.98
2002 AA	1-5-0	8	8	43.2	47	10	35	5.56
2002 A+	1-1-0	4	4	15.2	19	7	20	8.04
2003 NL	2-2-0	6	5	22.0	30	9	15	6.55
2003 AAA	12-8-0	26	26	149.0	142	54	146	4.29
2004 NL	6-13-0	31	26	133.0	148	67	92	6.50

Level	W-L-Sv	G	GS	IP	H	BB	K	ERA	OAVG	OOBP	OSLG
2005 NL	2-2-0	44	0	81.1	82	40	52	4.43	.259	.353	.386

Vogelsong has left the Pirates with the classic quandary of trying to decide what to do with a pitcher who has outstanding stuff but can't put it together. The Pirates acquired him and Armando Rios late in the 2001 season from the Giants for Jason Schmidt and John Vander Wal. Vogelsong was expected to join the team's rotation, but hurt his elbow in his second start with the Pirates and required "Tommy John" surgery. He began his rehab in mid-2002 and, after struggling for a while, pitched effectively toward the end of the year. He spent most of 2003 with Nashville and was erratic. He compiled high K totals, which at least showed he had the ability to dominate hitters, but he was very prone to big innings. He was called up for a handful of starts with mixed, but mostly poor, results. He was expected to get sent back to AAA in 2004, but he made the rotation after being the team's best pitcher in the exhibition season. After an outstanding start in his first game, though, he simply fell apart. He struggled with his control and routinely got bombed, frequently allowing big innings, often in the first. After being demoted to the bullpen for a while, he returned to the rotation when Kris Benson was traded. He had some good games after that, but remained prone to meltdowns. Although he pitched well in four of his six starts in September, the other two were so bad that his ERA for the month was over 6.00. He finished 2004 with easily the highest ERA of all but one other major league pitcher who had 100 or more IP.

Vogelsong got a shot at the rotation again in spring 2005, but didn't pitch well and lost out to Dave Williams. He spent the year in the bullpen and, until the last month, was largely forgotten as Lloyd McClendon lacked the confidence to use him in any game that was still in doubt. As a result, Vogelsong at one point went 16 days without pitching and twice went 13 days with just one appearance. Not surprisingly, he continued to struggle and sported an ERA over 5.00 in mid-August. He had a couple good long relief outings in August, however, including four hitless innings in one and 4.1 IP with just one run allowed in another. He had a 1.84 ERA in August, albeit in just seven games, but after Pete Mackanin took over Vogelsong began seeing more action, partly because Mackanin tended to run through his bullpen very quickly. He posted a 3.38 ERA in September, although his BB:K ratio was only 7:9 in 16 IP.

Vogelsong has always had very good stuff. He throws four pitches that are all considered good, including a fastball that reaches 94-96 mph, but he's always struggled with his command. He also tends at times to rely on the fastball too heavily. He made significant progress in some areas in 2005, cutting down dramatically on gopher balls—from one every 6 IP in 2004 to one every 16 IP—and cutting his opposing BA from .285 to .259. His BB:K ratio, however, remained poor. The Pirates seem to have developed more confidence in him now and he was considered most likely to be in the bullpen in 2006. Kip Wells' vascular surgery, however, left a second rotation spot open, for which Vogelsong will compete with Victor Santos, Ian Snell, Sean Burnett and Brandon Duckworth.

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