After being designated for assignment by the Rockies earlier this week, Samuel Deduno has been claimed on waivers by the Padres, according to MLB.com. Colorado had designated the right-hander to make room for the newly acquired Clayton Mortensen.
Deduno missed part of last season due to injuries, but made his big league debut with the Rockies late in the year. Heading into 2010, Baseball America ranked the 27-year-old as Colorado's 11th-best prospect, writing that he "can be a solid major league starter if he sharpens his command and develops a changeup. His two strikeouts pitches should make him a good bullpen arm regardless."
Although he has struggled with his control throughout his minor league career (5.1 BB/9), Deduno has averaged 10.0 K/9 as a starter in 120 outings. San Diego could be a good fit for the righty, given the team's knack for finding and developing relievers.
Frankly, my dear, I doubt anyone gives a damn.
Interestingly, Deduno was the Texas League Pitcher of the Year in 2009. Injury and a lackluster pitching arsenal make this kid old for the minors. I’d be surprised if the Pads get any real value out of him at the MLB level. They seem to be loaded in the bullpen without his “assistance.”
lackluster arsenal? Kind of strange to say that with a 10.0 K/9 as a starter.
Control problems sure, but stuff doesn’t look like its a problem
i dont understand how it is needed for you to voice your lack of interest. The purpose of the site is to report the rumors and transactions around the league. It is your right to not care but have some respect for the work the guys who run the site.
interesting claim, this guy has some good stuff.
Not many guys with that kind of K rate end up on waivers. Strange move by Col
San Diego = Pitching & Defense…Keep stocking up arms…Young Arms Rule…Great Pitching Managers make it all the sweeter ..Go Pad Pitchers+++
Yep-I like the pick up too. Balsley and Black have gotten very good results with this kind of pitcher in the past. If a waiver claim is all it’s going to cost you, there is no reason for them to pass.
To me it seems like he could be competing with Poreda this spring for a spot on the 40-man.
“can be a solid major league starter if he sharpens his command and develops a changeup.”
__________
If only the padres had somebody in their system who could teach this sort of thing ;)
You mean like the manager of the year in Black, and a highly regarded pitching coach in Ballsley? Examples of some of their work, Heath Bell, Cla Meredith, Mike Adams, resurrecting pitchers like Kevin Correia…..
i think he was referring to trevor “youknowthechangeupiscomingidareyoutohitit” hoffman. he’s a special assistant/whatever this year and will be a uniformed instructor at spring training.
Usually by this time – the Padres would have filled a quarter of their lineup with waiver claim castoffs, like Deduno. I was waiting for a move like this. As stated before, with Balsley, Black and now Hoffman – the Pads are primed to turn other team’s pitching trash into treasures. With Hawpe and Sam, it would be cool to see 2 ex-Rockies doing well for SD.
I’m with you. The Padres have always been able to put together a bullpen on the cheap. Three of their former cheap pick ups are among the BEST relievers in the league-Gregerson, Adams, and Bell. Let’s see, Gregerson had never appeared in the big leagues, Adams fought injuries and had never quite established himself, and Bell was for some reason not thought too much of by the Mets, and kept getting pushed aside and passed over. Balsley and Black are becoming the best in the business at getting value out of pitchers that other teams just don’t see as having a future-they are really good at, and it’s been that way since they started working together.
But how much of that bullpen development is from management and how much of it is Petco? It will be interesting to see how guys like Mujica and Webb do with the Marlins. My guess is they will be significantly (noticeably) worse, and that the biggest factor there will be the shift in ballparks — away from the caverns of the NL West and to a much cozier division.
Who knows? Mujica had a home run problem, even in the big parks in the NL West; Webb hasn’t been in the big leagues long enough to know if he’s good or lucky.
Now here comes the rant…..I am sick to death of hearing park, park, park! Yes, they have a big advantage for pitchers because they have a pitcher’s park-so do the Dodgers and Giants; the A’s and Detroit; the Mariner’s and Braves. Balsley and Black STILL do a great job getting the most out of what they are given-dare I say more than the other “big park” coaches get out of their pitchers-on the cheap.
Just like the Giants know how to draft and develop high upside arms, the Padres know how to pick through the leftovers. I’d still take the Balsley/Black team, even if they plopped them down in Cincinnati. .
I completely agree. I’ve been saying for awhile now that Balsley is the most underrated pitching coach in the league. I’m sure Black doesn’t hurt matters, but Balsley had some success before Black came to town. As for this Deduno guy, if all he needs is to learn a changeup, maybe he should spend some time with Hoffman, rumor is he used to have a good one.
Thanks. It’s long been a sore spot with me. You play the hand you are dealt, to the best of your ability. And you’re right-Balsley has a record of success that goes beyond Black being the manager in San Diego.
If the Padres let both of them go right now today, they’d both be sifting through offers by nightfall.
In my OOTP game, my scouting director watched Samuel Deduno and filed a report saying he was a 5 star pitcher and “every game he pitches is a clinic.” So I traded for him and inserted him in my big league rotation. After a month of 4.00ish ERA, my scouting director filed a new report downgrading him to one star and saying he could “make the major leagues if the timing was right.” I was so ticked off.
This kind of reminds me of the Radhames Liz pick up last year. A former highly touted pitcher that has not been able to put it all together yet. However, injuries could have hindered Deduno more than “stuff”. Hoyer has been awesome building a team, and finding the right pieces to try to “play Petco park into an advantage” on a limited budget.
As for the bullpen conversation regarding how San Diego pitchers benefit from Petco. Off the top of my head, Bell, Adams and Thatcher have been just as good on the road as they have been at home. Now, Ryan Webb, Luke Gregerson, Ernesto Freiri, (small sample size), Edward Mujica all have pretty dramatic home/road splits and obviously benefit from pitching in Petco park, where home-runs go to die! What excites me is a pitcher like Tim Stauffer who actually pitched better on the road last year, finally being healthy and regaining his life on his fastball. As oppose to a guy like Wade LeBlanc who is the poster child for benefitting from pitching in Petco park. His splits are ridiculous! Clayton Richard benefitted from Petco also, as they all will, but his splits were not too dramatic which is encouraging. The same can be said about Mat Latos, not a huge discrepancy away from Petco park. I believe the guys being brought in, like Aaron Harang, Dustin Moseley etc. will benefit from Petco tremendously. Especially going from one of the most hitter friendly parks/divisions to the polar opposite.
Denudo? Got something else on the brain?
Bell, Adams, Thatcher, and Stauffer were all actually better on the road than at home in 2010. Gregerson improved his home/road splits from 2009; he’s got more experience now and could very well improve them more in 2011. He’s certainly a capable enough pitcher and he’s trending the right way.
As far as Harang and Moseley being added-it’s not even an issue with me that you pick up players that suit your park. It’s good business. You do play a half of your games at home you know!