Posted by Zach Sanders on Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 4:22 pm

Drafted as a starter in the first round of the 2006 draft, Daniel Bard is dominating the majors inside the Red Sox bullpen. The Red Sox tried to keep Bard as a starter in 2007, but Bard struggled and was moved to the bullpen.

In 12 games this year since being called up, Bard has only give up one run, while striking out 13 and walking 4. Bard struck out 29 batters in only 16 Triple-A innings before being called up to the Sox

In his latest outing, yesterday against the Phillies, Bard struck out all three batters he faced and recorded his first MLB save. Let’s take a look at how his pitches looked yesterday:

All of Bard’s pitches moved extremely differently. His two seamer had tremendous movement, as did his slider. However, he only threw a single two seam fastball, so there is no guarantee that it will always have that much movement. His slider and two seamer are setup well by his dominant, straighter four seamer. Let’s see how well he located his pitches:

His fastball may be wild, but it can be when it averages 97 MPH. At least he knows how to keep it inside the zone, unlike fireballers such as Brandon Morrow.

His slider may be over the plate, but all four of them were swung at and missed. Bard’s lone attempt at a two seam fastball failed, as it sailed way over the plate.

Bard should continue to do well, until hitters start to get used to his pitches. The Sox would love to have him pitching well this season, as it gives them yet another option in their outstanding bullpen.