Samuel Deduno Lake (born July 2, 1983) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Career

Colorado Rockies

Deduno was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

in 2003. Deduno led the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in strike outs in 2007, but missed the 2008 season with an injury. Deduno was added to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

for the Rockies after the 2008 season. He was called up to the Rockies on August 26, 2010.

San Diego Padres

He was claimed off waivers by the

on January 28, 2011. On May 23, Deduno was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Blake Tekotte.

Minnesota Twins

Deduno signed a minor league contract with the

on November 17, 2011. On July 5, 2012, he had his contract purchased by the Twins. Deduno recorded his first win on July 22, in a game against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. In 2012, Deduno pitched 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA in 15 starts with 6.5 K/9 and 1.08 K/BB. On November 5, Deduno signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training to stay with the Twins. Deduno made 18 starts with the Twins in 2013, and he was 8-8 with a 3.83 ERA, striking out 67 in 108 innings. Deduno opened 2014 in the Twins bullpen after he lost the 5th starter spot to

Kyle Gibson Kyle Benjamin Gibson (born October 23, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillie ...

. He made 7 appearances in the bullpen, having a 2.89 ERA in 18.2 innings before being moved to the rotation to replace the injured

Mike Pelfrey Michael Alan Pelfrey (born January 14, 1984) is an American college baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He is the pitching coach at Wichita State University. He played college baseball at Wichita State University from 2003 to ...

. Deduno didn't fare so well in the rotation, where in 8 starts, he was 3-5 with a 6.52 ERA and a 1.603 WHIP in 38.2 innings, or less than 5 innings per start. He was moved back to the bullpen on June 17 in favor of

Yohan Pino Yohan Jose Alana Pino (born December 26, 1983) is a Venezuelan-Colombian professional baseball pitcher for the Tommasin Padova of the Italian Baseball League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City ...

Houston Astros

On August 30, 2014, Deduno was claimed off waivers by the

. In 14 appearances for Houston in 2014 and 2015, Deduno registered a 5.76 ERA with 26 strikeouts.

Baltimore Orioles

On February 19, 2016, Deduno signed a minor league deal with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. Deduno had undergone hip surgery in the offseason and was not going to be able to pitch until mid season. On August 10, the Orioles released him.

Pitching style

Deduno relies mostly, especially against right-handed hitters, on a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is ca ...

(89–92 mph) and

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

(80–84 mph). He throws a small amount of

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

s, and

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

s against left-handed hitters. The curve is by far his most common pitch in two-strike counts and when he is ahead in the count. His four-seamer has the smallest amount of "rise", or vertical break, among all major league starters since 2007. This sinker-like effect gives him the best ground ball/fly ball ratio (6:1) among four-seamers in that group. Remarking on its unusual movement, former Twins catcher

Ryan Doumit Ryan Matthew Doumit (born April 3, 1981) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played the first seven years of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then two for the Minnesota Twins, and one fo ...

said, "His fastball's unlike anything I've ever seen. ... It's like catching a 92-mile-an-hour knuckleball." Deduno has a high

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

rate, walking 55 batters in his first 83 innings.

Awards and honors

* 2007

Pitcher of the Week * 2004 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year * 2004 Pioneer League Post-Season All-Starhttp://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Samuel%20Deduno&pos=P&sid=t260&t=p_pbp&pid=465679

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deduno, Samuel 1983 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Asheville Tourists players Casper Rockies players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Houston Astros players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Minnesota Twins players Modesto Nuts players People from La Romana, Dominican Republic Rochester Red Wings players San Diego Padres players Tri-City Dust Devils players Tucson Padres players Tulsa Drillers players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players