DeDuno

[Jim H]

QUOTE FROM USAF CHIEF

Like I said, I hope I'm wrong. But if I was forced to bet, I'd bet against him ever being any kind of long term asset

 

I'd bet the other way. But, I can see why there isn't a lot of confidence that he can continue to do what he has been doing. I just think his stuff is so good, and now that Deduno has figured out how to make it work at the major league level, it should continue to work as long as he is healthy.

[Rosterman]

He's around until he hits arbitration. Chance are, batters will catch up with him, or he will be too unrpedictable. Don't think he could transition to a reliever at that point. He is a 30-year-old rookie, guys. If he is here in 2015......

 

Deduno is a perfect example of someone you should consider trading this winter, or if he comes out of the gate super in 2014.....do it before July to a contender.

[Dave T]

He's around until he hits arbitration. Chance are, batters will catch up with him, or he will be too unrpedictable. Don't think he could transition to a reliever at that point. He is a 30-year-old rookie, guys. If he is here in 2015......

 

Deduno is a perfect example of someone you should consider trading this winter, or if he comes out of the gate super in 2014.....do it before July to a contender.

I disagree. Deduno relies on ball movement, not power. He could be a successful pitcher for a long time. Besides, watching him pitch is pure entertainment!

[AROG]

I like Deduno and watching him pitch is usually far less painful than our normal pitching options, but the comparison to Diamond is fair. Diamond's issues this year can't be pinned down to an elbow surgery for sure. The truth is, he was a prime regression candidate long before we learned of that.

 

Deduno's success is linked to a pitching repetoire he's open about having limited control of. And while that has worked strongly in his favor this year, it isn't hard to imagine how negatively it could work against him as well.

 

He's fun to watch pitch, I hope he keeps this going, but his profile of success is a little more difficult to rely on.

 

I think we are very close to the same point here, just see it from opposite sides. Deduno is having success because of his repertoire of pitches. We agree there. But that is why I think he is different then Diamond. Diamond was good last summer because he had pin point accuracy. His stuff isn't that great. That is why I have more faith in Deduno being able to duplicate his success. His stuff is almost impossible to get solid contact against away from the middle of the zone. The second reason I have more hope in Deduno is that he is a fiery competitor. He takes losing personally. That's someone that will keep you in the game and fight for every out. That isn't to say Diamond isn't a tough competitor. I think he is a tough competitor, just not fiery.

[AROG]

He's around until he hits arbitration. Chance are, batters will catch up with him, or he will be too unrpedictable. Don't think he could transition to a reliever at that point. He is a 30-year-old rookie, guys. If he is here in 2015......

 

Deduno is a perfect example of someone you should consider trading this winter, or if he comes out of the gate super in 2014.....do it before July to a contender.

 

Cliff Lee wasn't any good till he was 30, that's when he had his break out season with Cleveland and was traded the next year at age 31. Lee is now 35 or about to be and still pitching great. I would take five years of Deduno over getting one or two prospects for him in a sign and trade.

[Guest USAFChief]

Cliff Lee wasn't any good till he was 30, that's when he had his break out season with Cleveland and was traded the next year at age 31.

Cliff Lee went 18-5 with a 3.79 ERA and finished 4th in the CYA voting as a 26 yr old. In Cleveland.

[TheLeviathan]

That is why I have more faith in Deduno being able to duplicate his success. The second reason I have more hope in Deduno is that he is a fiery competitor.

 

I agree with both of these points. I like Deduno, I'd probably say among this motley bunch of players he is one of my favorites to watch behind probably Hicks and Perkins. But part of what makes him a better bet than Diamond is also what makes him dangerous to rely on.

 

But it's not like we have a whole bunch of reasons to kick him out of the rotation either. We have plenty of time to see what he's got.

[AROG]

Cliff Lee went 18-5 with a 3.79 ERA and finished 4th in the CYA voting as a 26 yr old. In Cleveland.

 

That is very true, he followed that year up with two mediocre years before having a great 2008. I should have said that he didn't reach consistency of being good till then. He had flashes of being good but didn't have it from year to year, like he does now. It is a stretch to say that Deduno will be able to, he most likely wont be nearly the pitcher Lee is, but I think the Deduno we see this year is the Deduno we will see for the next 5 years. And with what we have for a pitching staff, is exactly what we need.

 

On a side note, I think Liriano is like Lee, in that he has finally figured it out and hopefully can start being consistent with it year after year. Maybe I'm just too optomistic...

[jimbo92107]

His 61.9% ground ball rate is the highest among starting pitchers with at least 10 starts. Masterson follows him among AL pitchers at 57.8%. If he can keep the ground ball rate and walk rate and improve his strike out rate, he will be better than a number 4 starter. I am not confident he can maintain his walk rate.

 

Deduno appeared to have solved his control issues in the WBC this spring, where he learned to throw more breaking balls early in a game to get under control, then work in more fastballs in the middle innings. Last outing he looked more like last year's version, throwing heat early and walking too many guys. Deduno has much better control of his breaking pitches than his fastball. Moving forward, I agree he's a good option for a middle to late rotation guy. On a good day he can shut down a lot of bats.

[Jim H]

I am not sure Deduno will ever completely solve his control problems. Still, I think he can remain effective for awhile. He seems to have a little more control of his mechanics, which generally, is the key to anyone's control. Ideally, a pitcher has great control, great velocity and great stuff. In practice, there are only a few Verlanders. Deduno only has great stuff, but at least he has learned/is learning how to best use it.

 

 

I like the fact that Deduno is different. Particularly compared to other Twins pitchers. It possibly gives him a bit of an edge over batters that most other pitchers don't have. Since batters don't really face individual pitchers very often, it should help a pitcher to be different from most other pitchers.

 

On a side note, I am not ready to give up on Diamond either. The key for him is his control, he needs to have it over all his pitches to be successful. He was able to do that last year. Maybe he won't be do that ever again, but I am unsure of why that should be true.

[Thegrin]

In 2004 Cliff Lee was 14-8. In 2005 he was 18-5. In 2006 he was 14-7. Then, in 2007 Cliff Lee was sent to the Minors. He had a 22-3 record in 2008 and won the Cy Young Award. Since then Lee has been one of baseball's best pitchers.

Some pitchers need to get in the right circumstances to be successful. They need the right manager and/or the right pitching coach to get the most out of their talents.

Dave Stewart was almost 30 when the A's picked him off the junk heap and made him a starter. For the next 5 years or so, he was one of the most feared pitchers in the Majors.

[Monkeypaws]

This guy has been a present.

 

BTW, I checked out his minor league numbers today:

 

9 seasons.

 

45-45

 

4.14 ERA

 

Here's where it gets fun:

 

797 innings pitched

 

673 hits allowed

 

852 Ks.

 

Those are the ratios that always interest me.

 

The 451 BB's, not so much.

 

Point is, this guy has never been easy to hit, and with a modest reduction in walks, he can be something useful, if not special.

 

What a find.