With the recent successes of Noah Lowry and Jack Taschner, the Giants have made a breakthrough with developing lefthanders. Eager to continue the trend, they protected some of their top lefty arms, such as Jon Coutlangus and Reina, on their 40-man roster this offseason. Reina has been on San Francisco's radar since he made his U.S. debut in 2003. The Venezuelan native has yet to produce consistently, but he has a live arm and stuff. His fastball sits in the low 90s when he's right, with some sink and excellent hard, late tailing action. Reina also has shown a solid-average changeup, and he throws both a slider and an occasional curveball. He showed his stuff in the Venezuelan League after the 2004 season, where his performance made the Giants worry they might lose him in the Rule 5 draft if he wasn't protected. After pitching 55 innings the previous winter, Reina came down with biceps tendinitis that limited him to 68 innings in 2005. An inconsistent release point hinders his control. A healthy Reina could move quickly, but he also has to show he can consistently get minor leaguers out.
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