The Virginia baseball team's series win against Clemson was not the only news grabbing headlines this weekend. Senior closer Casey Lambert tied the all-time ACC record for career saves with his 41st Saturday night during the Cavaliers' 3-0 win against the Tigers.
Lambert has served as the closer for all of his four years of his career.
With all of the hype surrounding his record, some are speculating about Lambert's prospects in this year's draft.
"I'm not sure, being a senior probably hurts my status a little bit," Lambert said. "My numbers are looking pretty good, and I'm not really concerned with where I go in the draft right now, my focus is just on this season."
When one thinks of hotshot major league closers, usually the names that come to mind are Billy Wagner or Mariano Rivera, power pitchers with dominating fastballs. Lambert, on the other hand, is more of a finesse pitcher who relies mainly on a knee-buckling curveball.
"I've been able to get ahead of a lot of hitters and attack them early," Lambert said. "I've been fortunate to be able to locate my breaking ball underneath their hands out of the strike zone, and I'm getting a lot of swings and misses over the top of it. When you work ahead of batters, you can get them guessing a little bit, and that's where the strikeouts come from."
Lambert may have more success in the major leagues as a setup man, an eighth-inning reliever who bridges the gap between the starting pitcher and the closer. Most finesse pitchers are more inclined to be setup men. An example of such a pitcher is Chad Bradford of the Baltimore Orioles, who has compiled an impressive 3.36 earned-run average in 10 seasons relying mainly on breaking pitches.
Lambert's changeup is solid as well. A slow pitch that he disguises with a fast throwing motion, his changeup induces the batter into swinging before the pitch gets to the plate.
Lambert's role on a team in the Major League seems to depend on what squad he's suiting up for.
"I think it would just depend on each organization and what their feelings are," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor. "I would imagine he'd probably stay in that relief role. Major League Baseball's always looking for left-handed pitchers that can pitch in any situational kind of role. There's guys that make a lot of money that do that."
It is not impossible to be a major league closer without a dominating fastball, though. Chad Cordero of the Washington Nationals had 29 saves and a 3.19 ERA in 2006 while relying mainly on his breaking pitches rather than his fastball. It is also possible that Lambert could transition into the rotation and become a pitcher like Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine. One recent example of this is Adam Wainwright, who has been a successful starter with the St. Louis Cardinals this year after breaking out in last year's playoffs as a reliever.
Being a left-handed pitcher will also help Lambert's draft stock because lefties are in short supply in most major league bullpens. Southpaws have an advantage pitching because they are often able to conceal their pitches against batters better than right-handed pitchers can.
One thing, however, is for sure: Casey Lambert has thoroughly enjoyed being a Cavalier.
"These have been the best four years of my life," he recently said. "I've got a lot of memories from on and off the field. Being a part of helping turn this program around, with all the success that we've had, and then also in the postseason ... I'm going to miss playing as a team, and having 35 other guys that are like a family."
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