previously relievers were the result of failed sp's, but in recent yrs its been a pattern of drafting college closers early to fast track them through the minors.

examples of this are street/hansen/aardsma/devine/cordero etc

at the same time is it smart for a team to fasttrack a 21-24yr old to get them to majors faster or let them develop their pitches and stamina as a sp and later on decide what their best role is? right now, maybe a guy like justin masterson is in this situation, what should they do?

i ask this because about the A's farm system, they are loaded with pitching in the minors. right now, they have 2 products of highly drafted college relievers at mlb level w/ street/devine.

In the minors, they have an interesting situation w/ a group of relievers who may be ready by late 09.

carignan/demel: both top 5 rd draft picks, strictly relievers. dominating their levels in 08 so far

jared lansford: he looked like a sp with a dominating MWL a couple yrs ago, has battled 2 yrs of injuries. healthy in 08 and doing great out of the BP. he doesnt turn 22 until after the season. should they move him back to SP?

andrew bailey: fairly high pick in 06. looked like a workhorse type SP, but blasted in AA. switched to BP and has been great

Henry Rodriguez: 21 yrs old, throws 100mph, but control issues and blasted in AA. now a reliever.

would it be in the best interest, to leave Bailey, Hrod, lansford, etc as sp's and let them continue to develop? or just ride their current sucess and a faster path to the majors??