From thrower to pitcher
Dean Deetz thriving in Corpus Christi after refining his command
When Dean Deetz entered the Astros’ system three years ago, he was more thrower than pitcher. • Raring back and throwing fastballs past batters was his forte. After all, it worked for him in junior college at Northeast Oklahoma A&M, with the Astros taking the righthander in the 14th round of the 2014 draft. • But in pro ball, Deetz learned there was more to pitching than velocity. In his first pro season, his ERA ballooned to 8.88 and opponents hit .297 against him.
“In junior college, I was throwing pretty hard and when I got to pro ball, I thought I literally could just throw it as hard as I can right past everyone,” Deetz said. “Then I realized the hard way that if you don’t throw strikes, it doesn’t matter how hard you throw.”
Fortunately for the Nixa, Mo., native, he’s been able to adjust and the results have come as a result. In his first full season at Class AA Corpus Christi, Deetz is 4-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 34.2 innings with opponents batting .175 against him.
That’s not bad for a guy who wasn’t ranked among the Astros’ prospects by Baseball America (MLB.com has Deetz at No. 30 in the Houston system).
Hooks pitching coach Dave Borkowski worked with Deetz in a limited stint at low Class A Quad Cities two years ago. Borkowski, a former Astros reliever, sees a more polished pitcher these days with the Hooks.
“I think a couple years ago, it was a bit of a struggle for him to find the strike zone with any sort of consistency from outing to outing and inning to inning,” Borkowski said. “Now, he’s definitely far more dialed in to throwing strikes with his fastball. He’s just done a lot better job being around the zone.
“At that lower level, he just out-stuffed people. Not necessarily pitching wise, he was just throwing it and had that plus-plus fastball with a really good breaking ball. It was almost probably too easy for him and he got caught up in having that success. Now, it’s a bit more challenging at this level, so he’s got to focus and have an idea and plan on what he wants to do and commanding the zone to locations and not just kind of throwing it forward.”
Deetz, 23, is coming off his longest outing of the year, going a season-best seven innings last Thursday at San Antonio. He allowed one run and five hits with four strikeouts to one walk. Deetz has allowed more than one run in just one of his five starts, a tough-luck 2-1 loss May 12 against Midland.
Deetz echoed Borkowski in attributing this year’s success to improved control.
“I used to overthrow and just try to throw as hard as I could and it really hurt me when it comes to throwing strikes,” said Deetz, who’s issued nine walks in 34 2/3 innings. “This year, I’ve been trying to control the zone and my velocity will be there when I need it.”
What also helped was the brief taste of Class AA that Deetz got at the end of last season. He joined the Hooks for two starts and worked 12 shutout innings.
That provided a boost after spending much of the year in the Astros’ former high-A affiliate Lancaster of the California League. The JetHawks play in arguably the most hitter friendly ballpark in the minors, with pitchers’ ERAs and confidence often taking a hit. Deetz had a 4.24 ERA in 23 outings (16 starts) at Lancaster.
“My confidence was kind of down,” Deetz said. “Coming here and having two good starts helped me coming into this year. I knew what to look for and how to pitch to be successful in this league.”
Deetz’s velocity — his fastball reaches upward of 95 mph — may lead to a future as a reliever. For now, he’ll be a staple in the Hooks rotation and will need to make adjustments as he faces Texas League opponents — the circuit only has eight teams — for the second and third time.
“Every hitter, one through nine, is going to be a guy who can put the ball in play no matter how hard you throw,” Deetz said. “You’ve got to be able to switch your pitches up and throw all your pitches for strikes and once you do that, pitching becomes a lot easier.”