Is Louis Head the Next Indians Relief Ace?

It seems almost every season another rookie reliever comes out of nowhere to make an incredible break through into the Indians bullpen. Last season it was left hander Kyle Crockett, the year before it was Cody Allen and before that Vinnie Pestano and the list goes on. While the current bullpen seems set with depth, there is always room for more when one pitcher or another gets hurt or can’t pull his weight.

One to look out for now is the young right handed reliever Louis Head. Head was originally drafted in the 18th round of the 2012, the year after Allen was taken in the 23rd round. As a college graduate (from the Texas State University), Head was already 22 when he began his playing career in the latter part of the 2012 season and will be 25 at the beginning of the 2015 season. While he is already a little older than both Allen and Crockett, they were both exceptional and it can’t be expected for any player to burn through the minors with less than 100 innings pitched (Allen had 98, Crockett 49).

Head has moved a little slower than the other pitchers mentioned, but he is still younger than the average AA player and just completed a very positive season for the Akron Rubberducks. In it, he held a 2.97 ERA through 36.1 innings and, as can be seen by the percent of games he has pitched in that he has finished, he has done so in a prime bullpen spot. In the past season, along with Crockett and Shawn Armstrong, he was part of what was a particularly dominant Akron group. While no individual was named closer, Head received his share of high leverage situations and was one of six pitchers with at least three saves and an ERA below 3.25 (Tyler Sturdevant, Enosil Tejada and Elvis Araujo in addition to the three already named).

Like Allen, Head is especially proficient at striking out batters and his 11.6 rate in 2014 nears Allen’s 11.8 career minor league rate. He does this with a four seam fastball, sinker, slider and change, a large repertoire for a minor league reliever. His fast ball definitely has life at an average of 95 MPH and his change of speed is established with his slider at closer to 85 MPH. The slider is also his only real breaking pitch and it averages five inches of movement across the plate. In the Arizona Fall League this past season, his slider was also his most dangerous pitch as more than 6% are “grooved” according to BrooksBaseball.net, essentially meaning he hangs his slider every once in awhile. Of course, it is also his greatest strike out pitch with near 40% of the swings taken at that pitch ending without contact.

There is little doubt that Head will begin the 2014 season in Columbus, but if he continues his current trends he would be among the first to be drafted into the Majors. Depending on who makes the final roster, C.C. Lee, Austin Adams, Tyler Sturdevant and Armstrong are further along in development, but the older three of these have had control issues and none appear to have the ceiling of Head. There is still a good chance that 2015 will not be his season, but don’t expect to wait to long until you see the next great Indians reliever coming to Cleveland.