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Q. What's the BEST case for him?
A. To become Doug Fister or Phil Hughes in the rotation, or a Koji Uehara Lite in the bullpen. Hey, we're talking BEST case here.
WEE-land has a Maddux-esque still head and CG , throws 1+ walks (as delights Jerry DiPoto), and now the question is whether he can deploy weapons that put ML batters on their back foot. For Doogie, that started as a dynamic change speed and a surgeon-precise fastball, evolving into an overhand change curve later.
For Wieland it will have to be superb command of the FB and deception on the change curve. That's not far-fetched.
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Q. Do no-name pitchers ever go on to impact pennant races?
A. Axed and answered. Just here in Seattle: Jamie Moyer, Jeff Fassero, Doug Fister, David Ortiz (oh!), Shigetoshi Hasegawa and ... fill in the next 8 names yerself, dawg. We're past this, aren't we?
GM's are always scrounging for a tomatah can who can surprise and make a diff'ernce. It happens. And it's part of DiPoto's job, to find one er two of 'em.
There isn't a thing wrong with gathering 10 of these guys you LIKE and seeing if 1 or 2 emerge. A GM *needs* to play this game.
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Q. Are we ever going to tire of this spaghetti against the wall shtick?
A. Used to be, under Chuck Armstrong that the M's would pick a credentialed sabe and give him $10K to present an "offseason plan." ... C'mon; you could just as easily "script" the 17 rounds of your roto draft as you could do that; it's how we got the Silva-Bedard offseason. Baseball, and life, demand ADJUSTMENTS.
But still. Visualize Whirled Peas for just one second, rationality exempted from consideration. Suppose the M's offered you $5K to give them a Yellow Post-It with 10 minors relievers around the league you'd like to have. Reallly! Suppose that were your job. None of them, for obvious reasons, can throw 94 MPH and up. Perhaps your next thought is to find 1 BB+ relievers who own a dangerous #2 pitch and remaining upside?
Yes, that would appeal to Dr. D, anyway ... Joe Wee-land, if the thought trace has escaped yer, is solidly on this sticky note.
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Q. The template being?
A. Fister's, kinda. We would say Evan Scribner's, since he also stands or falls with a 74 MPH change curve, but Scribner himself is spaghetti against the wall. Wee-land has:
So Dr. D is fine with this amigo, strictly in the context of "let's give it a whirl and see if the dice land box cars."
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Q. Vid?
A. Thusly: PROSPECT BLURB
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So, you unnerstand the guy. Place yer bets and takes yer chances.
Enjoy,
Dr D
...the Dodgers liked him a lot, actually...he's not completely unheralded. It's just that he couldn't stay healthy. If he could have a nice healthy season for us and HEY...look at that guy in AAA with the 3.00 ERA and 5 K/BB!...maybe we could flip him in a trade that gets us some piece we end up needing. Like a CF who is not horrible at life.