WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2009
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 0.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB.9, 9.0 K/9

Pitched one inning on the last day of the GCL season.

2010
A-:  2-6-0, 4.84 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 57.2 IP, 4.2 BB/9, 6.4 K/9

Spent season at State College and showed promise, but struggled with his control.  He made steady progress, with his ERA and walk rate dropping each month.  In June and July, he walked 17 in just 26.1 IP, but in August and September he walked only 10 in 31.1 IP.  He didn’t get many grounders, as his groundout to air out ratio was only 0.83, and his K rate was low.  On the plus side, he allowed only two longballs.  Baseball America rated him the NYPL’s 17th best prospect.

2011
R:  0-1-0, 4.15 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 7.3 K/9
A-:  0-1-0, 4.58 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 17.2 IP, 2.0 BB/9, 6.6 K/9
A:  6-4-0, 2.56 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 66.2 IP, 2.0 BB/9, 6.2 K/9 

Dodson pitched very well at West Virginia, but his season was interrupted by a broken hand in May.  He missed over a month and then went on a seven-start rehab stint in the GCL and at State College.  In 13 starts with the Power, he had a good ERA and WHIP, with low walk and K rates.  He threw in the low 90s, reaching 93, early in the season, but was hitting 88-90 after the layoff.  He was more of a groundball pitcher, with a groundout to air out ratio of 1.44.  Left- and right-handed batters hit for the exact same average against him (.246).

2012
A:  6-6-0, 4.86 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 100.0 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 6.0 K/9

Dodson’s 2012 season was close to a disaster.  To begin with, he went back to West Virginia despite his good showing there in 2011.  Then his pitching took a large step backward.  Opponents hit .280 against him, compared to .246 in 2011; his HR rate nearly doubled; and his walk rate increased dramatically as well.  The last item was a major problem, as he had some control meltdowns and generally showed poor command.  To top it all off, he got hit with a 50-game suspension for twice failing tests for a drug of abuse.  The suspension will cost him roughly the first three weeks of the 2013 season, in addition to the last month of 2012.

Once he’s eligible to pitch again, Dodson will have a ways to go to reclaim his prospect status.  He still has good stuff for a LHP, but needs to make significant progress with his command and keep out of trouble.  As of the end of spring training, the Pirates hadn’t decided whether to send him to Bradenton or back to West Virginia for a third time.  He wasn’t eligible for the Rule 5 draft in the 2012 off-season.  He was 19 when he signed, but 18 when he was drafted.  Age is calculated as of the time of the draft, which means Dodson has five pro seasons before he’ss eligible.  That makes him eligible in 2013.