Dubin promoted, bielak sent down

2 comments

1. >Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40
   Dubin’s college career took him from Erie (N.Y.) CC to Buffalo to Georgetown (Ky.) College, and he earned NAIA All-America honors in 2018 before becoming Georgetown’s first Draft pick in 21 years. Signed for a mere $1,000 as a 13th-rounder, he led the High-A Carolina League with 132 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings in his first full pro season and was part of Houston’s postseason player pool in 2020, though he didn’t appear in the playoffs. He has continued to miss bats in Triple-A the last two years and likely would have made his big league debut if he didn’t miss chunks of both seasons with forearm tightness.
   Dubin has added 25 pounds and done a better job of using his lower half in his delivery since turning pro, and his fastball has gone from averaging 90 mph at Georgetown to parking at 95-97 mph and touching 101. His mid-80s slider can devastate hitters with its two-plane break, but he went to more of a harder, tighter cutter last year even though the latter is more of an average offering. He also has a low-80s curveball that he struggles to land for strikes and barely uses an upper-80s changeup that’s too firm and doesn’t have much fade.
   Despite adding weight as a pro, Dubin is still smaller and skinnier than most starters and projects more as a multi-inning reliever than as rotation fodder at this point. The effort in his delivery leads to additional concerns about his durability and restricts his ability to throw strikes at times. If he can stay healthy, his electric fastball/slider combination should make him a useful bullpen asset.

2. Worth a shot. Curious to see how Dubin fares.

   I think Bielak may have some value out of the pen, but I never saw him as a viable starter long-term.