In Praise of the Pen: The Lugnuts' Greatest Relievers

We named our all-time Lansing Lugnuts starting lineup, but left out the bullpen... until today.

Here are our picks for the greatest relievers in Lugnuts franchise history, 1996-present:

• José Santiago, 1996-1997: We start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Santiago was the first Lugnut to ever make the Major Leagues, following up a 54-appearance, 19-save 1996 campaign by going from the Nuts to the Kansas City Royals over the course of one summer. He began 1997 in Lansing. By June 7th, he was in the Majors. It was the first of eight seasons he pitched in MLB, totaling 229 games.

• Steven Ellis, 2002: Ellis struck out 70 batters while allowing just 31 hits (and one home run!) in 47 1/3 innings, posting a 1.90 ERA. He was "named one of the organization's Top 5 relief pitching prospects, according to Baseball America, before being sidelined by a career-ending shoulder injury while fielding a ground ball," quoted directly from Ellis's website, "The Complete Pitcher," where, he writes, "over the last 16 years, I've helped more than 40,000 pitchers learn how to pitch better." Whoa!

• Jason Wylie, 2003: A 6-foot-5 right-hander out of the University of Utah, Wylie turned in one of the great full-season relief performances in Midwest League history. He made 57 appearances, tied for the single season Lugnuts record, while notching a 1.38 ERA, saving 29 games, and allowing exactly zero home runs among 36 hits given up in 58 2/3 innings. It was the peak of his career, but what a peak, helping the Lugnuts win the 2003 MWL title.

• Tim Collins, 2008: Though teammate Edgar Estanga received notice as the Midwest League's Post-Season All-Star as the top left-handed reliever in the league, Collins (pictured above) gets the nod here. In 68 1/3 innings, he struck out 98 batters and allowed only 36 hits. Dazzling stuff from a 5'7 southpaw, en route to a Major League career that is still in progress.

• Danny Barnes, 2011: A 35th-rounder out of Princeton who failed to distinguish himself in 2010, Barnes pretty much threw one pitch while in Lansing - a pinpoint extension-side low-90s fastball at the knees. Fastball, strike one. Fastball, strike two. Elevated fastball, strike three. Sure, every now and then he spiced in a slider, but his sensational fastball command helped him strike out 99 batters in 66 innings even as he battled a sports hernia by year's end. Barnes pitched in Toronto from 2016-2018, though injuries limited him in 2019.

• Ajay Meyer, 2012: Andrew Jay Meyer (pictured above) holds the Lugnuts' single season saves record, topping Jason Wylie, with 33 saves in 2012. A typical Lugnuts game saw Noah Syndergaard pitch four innings, Anthony DeSclafani pitch four innings, and then Meyer handle an easy ninth. On another day, it was Justin Nicolino and Aaron Sanchez combining on the first eight innings, with Meyer coming on to wrap things up. Ajay was even better in 2013 with Dunedin before his career ended prematurely early due to retirement in 2014.

• Jackson Rees, 2019: Rees (pictured at the top of the article) was a nondrafted free agent in 2018 from the University of Hawai'i who followed up a frustrating 2018 pro debut (7.59 ERA in 16 appearances between the Gulf Coast League and the Appalachian League) with a ridiculous 2019 that earned him the honor of Minor League Baseball's Relief Pitcher of the Year. Using a fastball that he could cut, sink or run to set up a devastating slider, Rees posted a 44/4 strikeout/walk ratio in 25 1/3 innings with the Lugnuts, allowing just one earned run. Then he moved up to Dunedin and gave up only four earned runs in 36 1/3 innings, striking out 44 more batters. All told, Rees's ERA in 2019 was 0.73, with 88 strikeouts and 15 walks in 61 2/3 innings.