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KEVIN DECKER
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RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
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Born: February 24, 1988 Height: 6′ 1″ Weight: 185 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 39th Round, 1167th Overall, 2010 How Acquired: Draft College: College of Charleston Agent: N/A |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES |
| Decker improved dramatically in his last season in college, making the transition from a struggling reliever to his team’s best pitcher. The drop in his HR rate was especially dramatic. His fastball can reach 93 and his best pitch is a change. As a senior he signed quickly.
2010 Had solid debut, finishing strongly after scuffling early. His ERA was 1.93 in August and September, with 23 hits plus walks in 28 IP. He also pitched well in July except for one disastrous outing in which he allowed eight earned runs in one inning of work. His ERA was 3.32 in his other five July games. Decker had a huge platoon split, as left-handed hitters batted .330 against him and right-handed only .183. He was a strong groundball pitcher, with a groundout to air out ratio of 1.76. The big minus was the very low K rate. With all the 2009 high school draftees on the Spikes’ staff, Decker played mainly a piggyback role, generally going around four innings whether he was starting or relieving. 2011 Decker pitched in relief for West Virginia, usually about two innings per outing. He was much more hittable, with an opponents’ average of .272. He kept the ball in the ballpark, allowing only two HRs, and his K rate improved greatly. He had no real platoon split. Decker was hurt by a very bad July in which his ERA was 8.25. The rest of the time it was 2.28. Decker will probably play a similar role at Bradenton in 2012. You have to wonder whether he’s suffering a bit as a supporting player to the prep pitchers from the 2009 draft. It seems like he could use more than 60 innings of work, especially considering that he threw nearly 140 between college and the minors in 2010. |
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STATS
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| Baseball Reference–Minors Fangraphs MiLB.com
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