Frankie P. on Dan Duffy

With the clear-cut plus fastball from the left side, the flashes of the plus hook, and developing changeup, Duffy has the type of stuff you put near the top of a big league rotation. Whether he ever develops the type of command in the zone to be that type of pitcher remains to be seen. Right now, he's not a guy who is pinpointing his pitches and relies more on challenging hitters with his plus stuff over the heart of the plate.

Right now, his overall command of his secondary pitches make him more of a third starter or perhaps a two. But, if he can consistently spot his curveball or changeup, then we suddenly have an ace-type pitcher on our hands. In either case, the Royals have to be very pleased that they have Duffy back on the baseball field.

over 1 year ago doublestix 5 comments 1 recs |

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His career minor league 2.9 BB/9 suggests control will be at least decent. His AFL numbers aren’t good tho, so maybe he’s been missing his spots. Either way, it’s good to hear that he’s got great stuff, and I’m not too worried about control issues in the long term.

by kcdc1 on Nov 18, 2010 6:10 PM EST reply actions

by 306008 on Nov 19, 2010 9:11 AM EST reply actions

Some of the major quotes.

As he showed in a strong outing on Wednesday, when he’s on time with his landing and arm action he can be as good as anyone. But obviously he has to string together a number of outings where he is just as consistent.

Duffy worked at 92-94, never pitching below 91 and reaching 96 mph twice. And throughout the outing he routinely touched 95 mph.

“Flashes of brilliance” is a phrase that can be used quite frequently when it comes to Duffy.

Duffy was snapping off clear-cut plus curveballs at 74-77 mph that graded out as 6s

One of the more pleasant surprises from Duffy on Wednesday was his changeup. And it could be this pitch that puts him over the top as a front-of-the-rotation type pitcher.

Thrown at 79-81 mph, his changeup has superb differential and some good dead-fish action down and away.

If you are looking for a comparison, one of the more clear-cut ones out there is Cole Hamels.

With the clear-cut plus fastball from the left side, the flashes of the plus hook, and developing changeup, Duffy has the type of stuff you put near the top of a big league rotation.

Right now, his overall command of his secondary pitches make him more of a third starter or perhaps a two. But, if he can consistently spot his curveball or changeup, then we suddenly have an ace-type pitcher on our hands

Scouting the Royals
Royals Prospects

by 306008 on Nov 19, 2010 9:26 AM EST reply actions