More on Dewon Brazelton

by Freneau on Dec 4, 2006 11:05 PM EST in Kansas City Royals News

This is from RJ over at DRays Bay, a great Devil Rays site.

The problem with Dewon is he depends too heavily on his changeup, this leads to hitters being able to sit on it. That's purely mechanical and should be fixable, the fact that he gets hit around quite a bit and has walked a load of batters (something he just didn't do in college) while not striking a lot of guys out is another area for concern. Dewon has yet to have a year at the major league level with more than 11 more K's than walks. For example his senior year in college he walked 24 guys in 127 innings, his second pro year he walked 23, in only 48.1 innings.

The positives are that he is a big guy and can probably eat around 150 innings if he gets 25+ starts. At 26 if the Royal's pitching coach can fix his mechanical flaws he very well could live up to some of that hype surrounding being the third pick in the draft, sandwiched between Mauer, Prior and Texiera, though I wouldn't hold my breath as he should more than likely spend some time in AAA.

Off the field he did go AWOL for a while once he was sent down, that may cause some concern, however his child seems to have made him grow as a man. Rest assured he's not a nutcase nor is he a Carlos Zambrano tpe who'll fist pump and such.

All and all he just seems to fear getting hit and that results in him trying to make the perfect pitch, that and the fact he doesn't trust all of his stuff makes Dewon a project, though I cannot deny when he's on; he's on. Will he post an ERA in the 3-3.5 range, probably not, but for a minor league deal / rejuvination project you would do a heck of a lot worse.

Best of luck to the Royals, their fans, the Royals Review, and to Dewon.

Great stuff.

Considering the Royals have had various forms of "pitch to contact" geared pitching staffs the last few years, so that may mean Dewon is a signalled change, or he'll be awful in KC, or maybe... Nothing at all yet.

Clearly, he's got/had some demons, hopefully he can rebound in his 50th chance, this time with the Royals. It'd be nice to see this team on the positive end of one of those type stories, since usually they bounce back after leaving the Royals.

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Meanwhile, as the Winter Meetings Madness continues, "dave york" asks "What do you think of Mike Maroth?"

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Nothing against this signing -

after all, there is only upside potential, and if it doesn't work, no loss at all.

That being said, I am pretty skeptical that Brazelton will ever harness his potential. Perhaps if we had a pitching coach with a track record of fixing flaws and rejuvenating careers, like Duncan in STL, for example.....

by loyal2s dad on Dec 5, 2006 9:54 AM EST reply actions

Are we sure this deal is on?

I can't find it anywhere.

by chukar on Dec 5, 2006 10:06 AM EST reply actions

The deal is done

I just saw it onthe Royals web site.

I really like this signing. Obviously the guy has a ton of potential and a really good arm or he wouldn't have been a #3 overall draft pick, and the fact that we get him as a non-roster invitee means that at the worst we give him a look and relaize he's shot no harm no foul a lot like we did with Jose Rosado his last go-round. But on the high end he relaizes his potential and can fill a spot on the Royals roster either starting or out of the bullpen, plus he's still pretty young so he fits into what Moore is trying to do. Somewhere in the middle (and most likely) he has a so-so showing with the Royals and he is signed to a minor league deal and provides depth while continuing to work. We really can't lose with this one.

Eric Conley "If a tie is like kissing your sister then losing is like kissing your grandmother with her teeth out." George Brett

by EricConley on Dec 5, 2006 12:19 PM EST reply actions

so... is this just an NRI?

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Former first-round draft choice Dewon Brazelton and veteran left-hander Wayne Franklin are among seven non-roster players the Royals invited to Spring Training on Tuesday. The club also signed 14 other players to Minor League contracts.
Brazelton, 26, spent the entire 2006 season in the San Diego organization, going 0-2 with a 12.00 ERA in nine appearances (including two starts) for the Padres. Tampa Bay's first-round pick (third overall) in 2001, the right-handed Brazelton owns an 8-25 career record with a 6.38 ERA in 63 games in the Majors, including 43 starts.

by Freneau on Dec 5, 2006 1:12 PM EST reply actions