twins/mlb

Why isn't this guy penciled into our 5th starting spot again?

Because no one is penciled in.

He should be the number one contender for the 5th spot especially after his performance in the WBC. I was a little surprised when the Twins took him off the 40-man roster at the end of the last season. He's a late bloomer and maybe finally he's started to figure it out. His fastball has amazing movement plus he has a very good breaking ball and changeup.

5th Starter? Why not Opening Day? Oh, we want pitch-to-contact guys... It's only spring training, everyone says... Well, here's where our starting candidates fall, according to earned run average: Deduno: 0.69 (13 innings, WBC) Devries: 0.90 Hendricks:6.00 Worley: 6.00 Correia: 6.46 Pelfrey: 7.45 Gibson: 9.00 Deduno will get some work during the last week of spring training, but he won't face anyone more formidable than he did in the WBC. If he shines, I say give him the ball and send him out against Detroit.

Forget the fifth spot. Slide him in right after Diamond and Pelfrey, then we'll hold our breath until Gibson and Meyer arrive armed and ready. Although, I haven't given up all hope on Hendricks. But Worley? Correia? Devries? Yawn.

Uh, let's see: The Twins claimed Deduno off waivers after the 2011 season. They could have passed on him, at which point most people wouldn't have even known how he landed elsewhere, but someone would have griped, "Why didn't the Twins grab this guy?" So they grabbed him. He's a Twin. They gave him a good audition last year. He wasn't that good. No one here was falling all over him. He's still a Twin. Starting to get the feeling they know more about him than you do?

Haha, I have to agree BallFour. My praise for Deduno was meant to equally give the rest of the rotation a slap on the face. Deduno or no Deduno, it ain't pretty. Worley needs a breakout year, Diamond needs to rebound from surgery, Corria and Pelfry need to resurrect their careers - etc, etc. And even if all that happens perfectly, this team still loses 85 games.