Wilhelmsen didn't pitch at all for a half-dozen years. He threw 74 innings in the low minors last year. If you let him continue to start and stretch him out to 130 this year in AA and 160 the year after in AAA then in 2013 you MIGHT have a candidate for the rotation. If you trust that the time off didn't turn his arm into a pile of goo or something, and he stays healthy.
If you bullpen him then he can throw 70 bullpen innings for you starting in Spring Training '11.
Personally I have zero problem with them putting Wilhelmsen in the 2011 pen and spot starting him when Fister or Vargas or Bedard goes down.
Pitching is not like hitting. If Wilhelmsen demonstrates that his current plateau is Major-League-caliber, as Lowe did from A+ ball, then use him now.
I would not try to LIMIT him to the pen, but I would absolutely be willing to UTILIZE him in the pen while giving him a few starts to bump up his innings totals and get him ready for the 2012 rotation.
Do I think he could benefit from more time in the minors? Absolutely. But if we're in a hurry to get the best arms we can onto the 25 man roster, then Wilhelmsen's applies.
I'd wait longer but if Cortes implodes again (as expected) and Aardsma can't come back with the same level of luck/skill that he had before then we may need the extra pen arms, pronto.
Triage is tough work. Jack can't afford to lose 100 games again, and with the offense being a low-scoring affair again this year most likely that means whatever leads we CAN get need to be protected.
Felix might be able to protect his own leads. The lil mouseketeers that follow him in the pitching rotation might not.
I won't hold it against Zduriencik if he wants to put Tom in the pen this year.
I might if Tom never gets out of it again, but if he's being effective then let the man pitch.
We could use all the help we can get.
~G
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