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Is Sean Gallagher's heart strong enough to control his head? With a lot of work off season in Venezuela and in Peoria to get healthy, his actions are speaking loudly for itself. Gallagher's head seems to be in the game too. AP quotes him:

"My career has got to come first," Gallagher said. "This year is a big year for me."

The question on my mind is getting healthy the number one issue for Sean Gallagher to achieve his potential or does he need more time to make the transition to Big League play? With an ERA of 10.29 with runners in scoring position and 18.00 with RISP and 2 outs, one may have grounds to argue he's a choke artist. But......But, in each situation he rings up 10 Ks in 11IP (combining RSIP and RISP/2) and offers the opposition a .269 and .200 BAA respectively. 

So what?

"He had a very good delivery, four quality pitches that he had command of, and a really good feel for off  speed stuff," Balsley said. "That’s a talent in itself. He has a terrific arm

I'll tell you what. This situational stat tells me Sean needs more command of those four quality pitches or he needs more help from the field. Sean has a tendency to pitch flyballs and good thing for him PETCO will accomodate said flyballs handsomely. Maybe simply pitching at PETCO will be enough to boost Sean's ERA.

However, Sean is competing with Latos, LeBlanc and Stauffer for a spot in the rotation and quite frankly, Sean's endurance is a nagging factor in the equation. Latos is the probable pick anyway being younger, healthy and with similar numbers to Gallagher. Gallagher is definitely a solid reliever given his sheer talent to keep opposing BAA down and his proclivity for strikeouts.

Now for the bottom line: Pitching with 2 strikes or RISP has proven trouble for him. Consistent results as a MRP will earn him a spot on the rotation. This is a clutch year for him that demands he remains healthy, develops more control, can hang tough while in trouble and deliver that golden pitch with 2 strikes for a K or flyout. Sean Gallagher ought to take heed of the great Satchel Paige:

Anybody can be a relief pitcher, a closer so long as he [has] "a thick skin, a short memory, and at least one great pitch"

He's got 4, here's hoping he's tough as nails and suffers from CRS syndrome.