Sometimes guys posses a great deal of potential, and even when the player fails at one stop, others think they can mold that player into the guy everyone saw when he was younger. Dana Eveland’s four pitch arsenal, on occasion, makes every manager, pitching coach, and general manager swear that he can be that mid-rotation stater who throws 95 mph out of the left hand.
Eveland flashes an effective swing and miss curve ball and the ability to keep the two seamer with late action movement down in the zone. He shows the ability to drop the change up on hitters and an arsenal that has the chance to really set the table for any ball club.
How is it that he bounced from organization to organization and has barely scratched the surface of his potential at the major league level?
Eveland has always had control issues and lacks command of his pitches. His catchers just have no clue where the ball is going. There has been a consistency issue plaguing him and his command issues make it easy to sit on pitches and square up on him — he has always been a very hittable pitcher for this reason.
There are some encouraging signs that show he has cleaned up these issues over the last two seasons, specifically last season in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. But overall it is a label he must shake off on the big show.
Eveland profiles as a back of the rotation pitcher for the Orioles this upcoming season. He will need to tighten his arsenal against every hitter because there is little room for error in the American League East. He has the ability to pitch and the stuff to make bats miss. When at his best, he can keep it on the ground and in the park. If his command or control waiver, there might not be a long leash for him as a starter and he might be a long arm out of the bullpen in 2012.
