Written By: Trevor Filkins
Edited By: John Aidala
In the first iteration of this series, I highlighted breakout relievers for 2025. Daysbel Hernandez, Robert Garcia, Kaleb Ort, and Mason Montgomery were among those promising young pitchers with expectations to break onto the scene come April. In this segment, I want to go over a few more guys that look to breakout as star relievers in 2025. Names that the typical baseball fan may not know but will soon as the season gets underway. With spring training already well underway, a wonderful crack of the mitt and extravagant K-struts total up each day. Let us rejoice and delve into four new guys to give valuable innings to their respective franchises this upcoming season.
Seth Halvorsen of the Colorado Rockies, one of my personal favorites on this list, is one to begin with. It is unfortunate that his talents are banished to the confines of Coors Field in Colorado this season. Regardless, he is a stud and the league will get to know his name this season. I expect him to get similar recognition as Rockies' past players such as Adam Ottavino and Daniel Bard. Halvorsen quietly threw exceptionally well for Colorado past season, posting a 1.46 ERA and 2 Saves in twelve appearances. What to love about Halvorsen is his 100 mph average fastball velocity, which ranks in the 99th percentile, combined with his 87th percentile extension down the mound. This combination will allow his fastball to thrive when combined with his slider and splitter. His slider has an above average vertical break which will allow his fastball to play even better since hitters will have to account for the offering. His above average horizontal break on his splitter will compliment that fastball as well by giving lefties fits. In his small sample, he was able to harness his pitches well and only allowed 2 walks with 13 strikeouts to go with an elite whiff percentage. His expected statistics were elite and that is always a recipe for success given he has the ability to limit damage from what we have seen. His ground ball rate is above average as well which should help him in Coors. He throws strikes and he misses bats.
Prelander Berroa is another pitcher capable of making his splash. Berroa might possess one of the cooler names you have yet to hear. Given that he was on the Chicago White Sox, the worst team in baseball history last season, you probably have no earthly idea who this guy is. This year, I expect that to change. While the White Sox may be quite terrible again this season, barring some unforeseen turnaround, Berroa will be a name to look at as a future stud for the White Sox. Berroa had his opportunity last season and had 19 innings pitched and excelled unlike most of the guys around him. Berroa struck out 26 batters in those innings, on the back of his 98 mph average fastball velocity. He was elite at missing bats and gave up little hard contact if any. His fastball-slider combination out of a higher arm slot allowed him to thrive and dominate opposing batters. If he maintains this ability to miss bats and barrels, he will be the next random White Sox pitcher to assert themselves among the sea of awful players. If Berroa harnesses his walk rate, this guy will be an absolute stud out of the pen for the White Sox.
Fernando Cruz might be the riskiest pick to breakout thus far. Cruz's achilles heel among his game is his frequency of giving free passes. The Yankees have been known under pitching coach Matt Blake to take guys with these types of problems and mitigate them and get the most out of their guys however. There is a lot to love about Cruz, he has a 99th percentile whiff and strikeout rate. He might have the nastiest pitch in baseball in his splitter which he throws to both righties and lefties and allows him to get batters of both handedness out. He needs to ditch his cutter entirely or find a new shape on the pitch to compliment his fastball and splitter. I would not be shocked if he just decides to go fastball/splitter this season and hone in on those dominant pitches. He has slightly above average ride on his fastball, but with the magical splitter he could reach an elite 14.7 strikeouts per 9. I expected that under the realm of Matt Blake, Cruz will drop that ERA of the past two years from the high 4’s to the 2’s.
The Rays manufacture pitching and they got a good one in Hunter Bigge. Bigge has great extension down the mound, great spin, and a fastball sitting around 98 mph. The other thing he has going his way that the other guys mentioned so far is a beyond elite vertical break on his fastball. He commands well and has a great walk percentage as well as elite strikeout percentages and whiff percentages. Bigge pitched in a total of 17 and 1⁄3 innings last season and quietly put up a 12.5 strikeouts per 9 as well as a measly 2.6 walks per 9. He had a 2.60 ERA in that time and with more time to work under the Rays pitching lab I would not be shocked to see an even lower ERA this upcoming season. He easily surpasses the rest of the guys with 3.2 inches of vertical break above average on his fastball. This puts him in groupings with Christian Javier of the Astros who is known for the rise on his fastball. The difference being that he throws it over 4 mph harder. When paired with a solid slider and an exceptional curveball that has an above average horizontal and vertical break as well, Bigge will be a stud out of the bullpen for the Rays in 2025.
These were four more guys to look out for and watch bloom on their respective teams this season. Guys you will get to know throughout the progression of the season and likely names to call for fanbases. These guys will be the bright spots and will look to provide some hope when they step on to the mound in clutch time.