Deduno as a reliever?

[Monkeypaws]

Given his stuff, wouldn't he make an awesome relief pitcher? Let that wild fastball do its thing.

[COtwin]

No. He needs to be able to work himself through jams. He is too inconsistent to come into a tight situation. I think his make up is as a starter.

[Monkeypaws]

No. He needs to be able to work himself through jams. He is too inconsistent to come into a tight situation. I think his make up is as a starter.

 

I had the thought watching an ESPN rain-delay filler on Mariano Rivera; no, I'm not comparing them, but they were talking about when Rivera discovered the cutter, and how it transformed his career.

 

If Deduno were to focus on a single crazy pitch, ... well, just a thought.

[Craig Arko]

Depends on his control; I would think he's better off starting an inning than coming into situations with runners on base. That could limit his usefulness as a reliever.

[whatever54]

Didn't they try that when he was in the Rockies organization?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Given his stuff, wouldn't he make an awesome relief pitcher? Let that wild fastball do its thing.

 

The exact opposite, actually. You can't rely on a reliever who comes into a game with men on base and has a 15% chance of walking the first batter.

 

Deduno's problem is his fastball and you can't have a reliever who doesn't trust his own fastball to get over the plate. That's a recipe for disaster.

[Mike Sixel]

I'm a fan of leaving Deduno in the rotation all year, to see if he can harness his stuff or not. I think he's a placeholder for May / Meyer, frankly. I still think Hendriks, as bad as he's been in the majors, can be the number 5......

 

Gibson

Diamond

KC

Deduno

Hendriks

 

Next year to start, followed by May / Meyer at some point. With potentially Wimmers and Baxendale waiting in the wings. I'd really like 1-2 more high upside arms closer to the majors, but that will have to wait for the really young guys to mature, I think.

[Oldgoat_MN]

I'm a fan of leaving Deduno in the rotation all year, to see if he can harness his stuff or not. I think he's a placeholder for May / Meyer, frankly. I still think Hendriks, as bad as he's been in the majors, can be the number 5......

 

Gibson

Diamond

KC

Deduno

Hendriks

 

Next year to start, followed by May / Meyer at some point. With potentially Wimmers and Baxendale waiting in the wings. I'd really like 1-2 more high upside arms closer to the majors, but that will have to wait for the really young guys to mature, I think.

 

I like everything you said, except I think that Deduno may have a fair chance to be really effective in a high enough percentage of his outings that you deal with the clunkers. Deduno has had pretty decent control in his more recent outings.

 

Like the positive feedback we are getting about May.

Alders is in the mix, too.

[Mike Sixel]

Oldgoat, I agree, if Deduno can give you 60-70% good starts, they should be able to put up with the bad ones.....how many starters give you more than that? Give me 20 quality starts as a fan, and I'm happyish about baseball.

[SwainZag]

I'm a fan of leaving Deduno in the rotation all year, to see if he can harness his stuff or not. I think he's a placeholder for May / Meyer, frankly. I still think Hendriks, as bad as he's been in the majors, can be the number 5......

 

Gibson

Diamond

KC

Deduno

Hendriks

 

Next year to start, followed by May / Meyer at some point. With potentially Wimmers and Baxendale waiting in the wings. I'd really like 1-2 more high upside arms closer to the majors, but that will have to wait for the really young guys to mature, I think.

 

I really hope that KC is traded at the deadline for something and not slotted into the rotation next season.

[Mike Sixel]

I really hope that KC is traded at the deadline for something and not slotted into the rotation next season.

 

Agreed.....I was posting what i think will happen, not what I want to happen....

[clone52]

I like everything you said, except I think that Deduno may have a fair chance to be really effective in a high enough percentage of his outings that you deal with the clunkers. Deduno has had pretty decent control in his more recent outings.

 

Like the positive feedback we are getting about May.

Alders is in the mix, too.

 

Over the last 2 years, Deduno has an ERA of around 3.00 in 86% of his starts. Take out 3 clunkers and he's been very good.

 

Reminds me of a knuckleballer.

[FanFromAffar]

I like Deduno and Im quickly becoming a real Fien fan as well. I think right now we have some pretty strong relievers.

[Craig in MN]

I remember thinking something similar about about trying Deduno as a reliever in the offseason. You obviously wouldn't want to bring him in a jam in a close game, so middle relief is out. But as a mop-up map, you wouldn't really worry about a few clunkers. And as a closer, he'd start innings and would often have a 2 or 3 run lead, so walking a runner hear or there wouldn't kill him as long as batters aren't making good contact off of him.

 

It's kind of crazy to think of him as a closer, but a tiny improvement with the transition is all it would take to make it work. Guys like Capps & Rauch get jobs as closer every year. The Twins don't really need a closer or a mop-up man, though, so the fit isn't obvious.