Dennis Dove
| IP | 3 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 15 |
| WHIP | 2 |
| BB/9 | 3 |
| SO/9 | 3 |
- Full name Dennis Anthony Dove
- Born 08/31/1981 in Tifton, GA
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Georgia Southern
- Debut 04/30/2007
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Drafted in the 3rd round (95th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003 (signed for $400,000).
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Dove doesn't have much going for him besides a live arm, but that will be enough to get him drafted in the first two rounds. He repeatedly generates mid-90s heat, though it comes in straight and has been hit hard this spring. He relies almost solely on his fastball because he lacks a usable second pitch. He has a hard slider but throws it in the dirt more often than he does in the strike zone. Dove has tended to dominate below-average hitters who chase pitches, but he won't face nearly as many at the next level. He'll be a project and probably a late-inning reliever for whom refining his slider will be crucial.
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Dove needed some kind of jump-start to his career after making 42 starts, none above Class A, in two and a half seasons. He shifted to the bullpen last year and advanced to Double-A in the second half. With one plus pitch, he finally began to blossom in relief. Dove has long sported one of the best fastballs in the organization, a lively hopper he can run up to 96-97 mph at times. He consistently is able to pump 92-94 mph heat with a funky, max-effort delivery that gives him some deception. He hadn't learned to harness his stuff as a starter, and poor control plagued him. He works almost exclusively with fastballs, mixing in an occasional slider that doesn't feature the same type of power you'd expect from a pitcher with his arm strength. He also largely scrapped the changeup he tried as a starter. He was more aggressive in relief, and his control showed marked improvement. He built upon his breakthrough season with a promising stint in the Arizona Fall League, going 1-0, 1.93 over nine innings. The Cardinals added him to the 40-man roster after the season, and he'll get a chance to garner attention in major league spring training while also auditioning for the Triple-A bullpen.
