2009 FBS Bust Player: Heath Bell

Team: San Diego Padres
Throws: Right

Position: RP

It is never easy to be the guy who follows a legend. You always want to be the guy to follow the guy who follows the legend. Well, Heath Bell will follow the legend of Trevor Hoffman in San Diego. I understand that Hoffman was no longer an option for the Padres, but perhaps they could have made a better choice than Bell. He does get good strikeout totals, but only once in his career has his ERA been under 3.33 and for a relief pitcher that isn't very good. San Diego has also been relying heavily on Bell in the past couple seasons (155 appearances in '07 and '08) which COULD eventually cause some strain on his arm. On top of the fact that his stats don't jump off the page at you, but the Padres have pretty much dumped everyone who makes any money or has any time spent in the majors, or has any record of success (outside of Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez). This doesn't lend itself to a ton of save chances for Bell. It is going to be a long year in San Diego, and unless there are very few closers left I would stay away from drafting Bell.

Prediction: 3.19 ERA, 23 saves, 75 Ks, 1.31 WHIP