Thread: Article: Is Samuel Deduno a lock for the 2013 rotation?

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LOCK. This is my opinion, and not based on fact, but this organization is impressed by small sample size performances, like signing hitters that beat up on them, or pitchers that are good in the AFL. Plus, they are not exactly willing to spend money. Deduno is a perfect storm for their scouts and money guys.

Originally Posted by mike wants wins

LOCK. This is my opinion, and not based on fact, but this organization is impressed by small sample size performances, like signing hitters that beat up on them, or pitchers that are good in the AFL. Plus, they are not exactly willing to spend money. Deduno is a perfect storm for their scouts and money guys.

Exactly.

They're not swimming in decent pitchers and are not likely to gather in much more than guys found in the bargain bin.

That's been their pattern in the past, and unless radically changed, won't be any different this year.

i have seen deduno alot thru the years, my opinion is & has been is he should be in the pen , where he can throw the curve 15 times & give you 1 good inning, you are correct he has great movement on his pitches but he has & will always struggle with control, thats a good thing & a bad thing....hitters cant sit on pitches because they have no idea where its going...if he tries to change & get less movement & throw more quality strikes he is going to start to get hit harder....the video you showed is a perfect example, the ball was never over the plate , it had alot of movement but it was never a strike, hitters will not swing at that once they get a good look at him..i do believe deduno comes into spring training with a shot , not a lock at the rotation & then its 50/50 if he throws strikes for a month in ST he makes the team if not & he struggles with control he gets designated & maybe gets claimed or goes to rochester..

LOCK. As the video shows, Deduno is very hard to hit.

Originally Posted by 3up3down

i have seen deduno alot thru the years, my opinion is & has been is he should be in the pen , where he can throw the curve 15 times & give you 1 good inning, you are correct he has great movement on his pitches but he has & will always struggle with control, thats a good thing & a bad thing....hitters cant sit on pitches because they have no idea where its going...if he tries to change & get less movement & throw more quality strikes he is going to start to get hit harder....the video you showed is a perfect example, the ball was never over the plate , it had alot of movement but it was never a strike, hitters will not swing at that once they get a good look at him..i do believe deduno comes into spring training with a shot , not a lock at the rotation & then its 50/50 if he throws strikes for a month in ST he makes the team if not & he struggles with control he gets designated & maybe gets claimed or goes to rochester..

Guys with control problems are a disaster out of the bullpen. When you need an inning out of a guy and he's almost guaranteed to walk at least one batter in that inning, you're not going to see very good results. Deduno can get through that as a starter because he has 5-6 innings to work with but as a reliever, you need to be able to come in at a moment's notice and get a guy out, not walk the first two batters you face.

That "crazy fastball" is a double-edged sword. Look at the graphic - a lot of movement , but the pitch is obviously a ball and Deduno is lucky that Robinson swung at it. He's a unique pitcher but teams are going to figure out real quick to lay off Deduno's fastball.

Deduno's numbers scream "regression" to me. But I think he's a lock anyway because the Twins won't bring in enough starters to bump him from the rotation.

Nobody should be a lock. Make everyone earn a spot next year.

Not a lock, but strong consideration. That pitch was not an obvious ball. In the first third of its flight it is heading for the outside of the plate. when the hitter is deciding to swing, it looks like strike. Dedunos problem is with that much movement, painting the corners is nearly impossible. Also, I agree that Deduno would be a disaster out of the pen. He is going to walk some guys, but the beauty of what he has been doing is that over the course of a game, he makes up for it with ground balls and weakly hit flys. Short appearances could magnify his issues.

If the rotation is Diamond-Deduno-Hendriks at 3-4-5, then that is not bad. If they are 2-3-4, that is bad.

The two closest historical comparisons I can find for pitchers in Deduno's age range and comparable ratio of hits, walks, and Ks per 9 innings are the 29 year-old Steve Barber of 1967 and the 25 year-old Bo Belinsky of 1962. Barber went 24-28 over the remainder of his career (6 years) while Belinsky was 18-40. (7 years)

I look for Deduno to be more of a Bo Belinsky. (Without the interesting Mamie Van Doren press sightings, unfortunately)

Is a lock to go inti ST as a starter but its 50/50 if he makes the club. Gardy admits he cannot get by with his present walks & since hes out of options, i wouldnt be stunned if hes outrighted & claimed.
To me, he's the guy holding down the position till Bakers ready May 1 or Gibson June 1

Originally Posted by Shane Wahl

If the rotation is Diamond-Deduno-Hendriks at 3-4-5, then that is not bad. If they are 2-3-4, that is bad.

3-4-5 is "not bad", but 2-3-4 "is bad".

That begs the question:

1) What does that make the "1-2-3" scenario if the Twins decide that Baker/Gibson are designated as the other two starters and they both end up breaking down again?

Originally Posted by jokin

1) What does that make the "1-2-3" scenario if the Twins decide that Baker/Gibson are designated as the other two starters and they both end up breaking down again?

That would be the "Oy vey!" scenario.

Originally Posted by greengoblinrulz

Is a lock to go inti ST as a starter but its 50/50 if he makes the club. Gardy admits he cannot get by with his present walks & since hes out of options, i wouldnt be stunned if hes outrighted & claimed.
To me, he's the guy holding down the position till Bakers ready May 1 or Gibson June 1

Agree with this 100%.

I don't think anyway has earned a spot except maybe Diamond. Everyone else should have to earn a spot in ST (as reliable as that is). Deduno has definitely earned his ST invite though.

Wait, you do not trust the results this year, but you would trust spring training? Also, I answered bases on what I think the team will do, not what I would do.

How would Baker be ready by May 1, 13 months after surgery while Gibson won't be ready until June, 22 months after his?
I think the most likely thing is Gibson starts in the bullpen to save innings, moves into the rotation after June 1 and gets 15-20 starts. Baker could maybe be ready to pitch around June and also get 12-15 starts. However, why are we thinking Baker is coming back?

I'm kind of fascinated by the reports on this kid's FB. Some cut, some tail, and some sink. And apparently, nobody, including him, knows which direction the ball is going. Or, even what's causing the variance. The one thing I could add to Doumit's thoughts, “I don’t know if it’s finger pressure or wrist angle or what it is, but he’s got a gift..." is this: A normal FB is thrown with index and middle finger on the seams with the thumb opposing them, roughly forming an isosceles triangle, with the ring finger second knuckle providing stability. When I switched to softball I found the movement I had, because of the shorter distance, confounded the firstbaseman. I discovered a grip change that "killed" the spin, thus reducing movement, with no real drop in velocity. All I did was change from a 3-point cradle to a 4-point cradle by moving my thumb further to the outside of the ball and adding the first knuckle of the ring finger as the 4th point. This was an accidental discovery and had more to do with the size of the ball than any mission I had. Anyhoo, if Deduno, actively or inadvertently, moves his thumb out or hits a seam with it he might "kill" some of the spin and cause apparent sink.

Originally Posted by mike wants wins

Wait, you do not trust the results this year, but you would trust spring training? Also, I answered bases on what I think the team will do, not what I would do.

It's not that I don't trust this year's results. I was saying that he would have to continue to show results in spring training to get a spot in the rotation when the season starts. More of a combined look, not just one or the other.

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

How would Baker be ready by May 1, 13 months after surgery while Gibson won't be ready until June, 22 months after his?
I think the most likely thing is Gibson starts in the bullpen to save innings, moves into the rotation after June 1 and gets 15-20 starts. Baker could maybe be ready to pitch around June and also get 12-15 starts. However, why are we thinking Baker is coming back?

I think the common thought is that Gibson needs a little bit more AAA experience, not that he would be coming back from the surgery too soon. Since Baker has been a MLB starter for a while, he wouldn't need the AAA experience, just go there long enough to prove he's healthy again. All speculation on my part though.

I do actually like the idea of Gibson in the bullpen to start the year. It makes sense to me on an experience/arm usage level.