Major league bullpens usually have at least two lefties these days. One is more of a normal reliever, usually for the latest innings in a ball game, and the other is what you hear referred to as the “lefty specialist.”
The “LS” as we’ll call it is usually called in when the team is in a jam and needs a tough left handed hitter or two retired. You usually don’t count on these guys to pitch entire 7th, 8th, or 9th innings as a whole (for example) … just a hitter here or there.

Do I smell a competition?

The White Sox currently have two guys competing to be the LS for the last month and a half of the season, rookie Leyson Septimo and recently-recalled Donnie Veal.

Septimo is a 27 year-old who has a very good arm: he really throws hard and has off speed stuff that can be quite good. In my mind, he has gotten the nod throughout the past month or-so because the organization would really like to see him develop into a staple of the bullpen and eventually take over for Matt Thornton.  Veal on the other hand is more of a typical LS. He doesn’t throw too hard, and is good at just locating his pitches … he won’t over-power you but he can out execute you (performance-wise). Veal is also 27, so he’s still young enough to develop and plan as a part of your future. Is there a good chance either of them will pan out to be studs in bullpens for years to come? Probably not … but hey, if one of them can step up, they’ll certainly have at least turned heads.
For the past few weeks at least, Septimo has been the guy; Veal only recently got recalled when the team sent down Jordan Danks to add an arm to help save the others for September. And when Paul Konerko comes back from the disabled list later this week (most likely), one of them will have to be sent down.
So far, Septimo hasn’t been that good. He has a 6.00 ERA in 12 appearances, and has walked 5 of the 22 lefties he’s faced. That’s way too many, especially for a lefty specialist. Veal, on the other hand, has been pretty good. He’s only pitched 1.2 innings through two separate games, but heck, he hasn’t let up anything during those so more power to him. It’ll be interesting to see how the team handles the situation when one has to be sent back down to AAA … I’m going to guess it’s Veal that stays before September call-ups, as Septimo has already got his shot and not done too well with it. Not to mention, he’ll be back with the expanded rosters most likely.

Is this one of the most important spots on your roster? Definitely not. But if you want to win a division, especially in the American League, you have to be good top-to-bottom … and the LS is included in that.
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