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Kevin Goldstein is impressed by Neftali Feliz

Kevin Goldstein was the first one on the Neftali Feliz bandwagon, so it shouldn't be any big surprise that he was impressed with Feliz's performance in yesterday's Futures Game:

The biggest addition to the Rangers down the stretch might be Neftali Feliz. While walking one and striking out two in his scoreless inning, Feliz was pumping gas at 97-98 mph while touching triple digits on numerous occasions. The Rangers need help in the bullpen, and the good news is that they don't need to make a trade to alter the long-term plan. Feliz will not only help, he might be closing by September.


My gut feeling is that Feliz is up here before the end of the month, and while I don't expect him to be closing by September, I do think that if the Rangers are in the race in September, he's going to be in the role of late-inning power arm, a guy to pair with C.J. Wilson in the 8th inning of games.

And I think that's a good thing for Feliz's development, long-term.  As with Holland, let him come up and get his feet wet pitching out of the bullpen -- yes, even in big situations.  I think that will only help him as a starter down the road.