Yusmeiro Petit

2013

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2010

The long ball continues to be Petit's downfall, as he gave up 23 homers in 105.1 innings between Triple-A Reno and Arizona. The Mariners claimed him off waivers in November, which should help his chances of being a viable option in the back of the rotation given a couple of key factors. First, Seattle's Safeco Field is the third-toughest park in the American League for home-run hitters. Second, Petit should benefit from the elite defense of Jack Wilson at shortstop, after he was victimized by an inflated number of groundball hits with the D-Backs last season. Petit misses enough bats (7.43 K/9IP) to be a useful fantasy option, provided that he's able to improve his shaky command (3.41 BB/9IP). You could do worse than taking a chance on the 25-year-old in the endgame.

2009

Since floundering on the fast track to the majors in Florida, Petit has made strides in Arizona, turning the corner as a 23-year-old in 2008. While spending most of the first half of the season at Triple-A Tucson, Petit had an impressive strikeout rate (10.05 K/9IP) and improved command (8.38 K/BB), before the D-Backs needed help in their rotation. He cruised through July and August with a 32:6 K:BB ratio and 2.48 ERA in nine appearances -- including six starts -- before imploding and being replaced by Max Scherzer in September (.350 BAA, 12.46 ERA). If Petit is going to sustain success in the majors, he'll need to keep the ball in the yard as home runs (31 allowed) have been his downfall through 139.2 big league innings. Petit should open 2009 as the D-Backs' long reliever, with an opportunity to compete for the fifth starter's job during spring training.

2008

For the second straight season, Petit's strikeout rate dropped at Triple-A (5.77 K/9IP), but he managed to pitch well enough in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League to make 10 starts for Arizona. The D-Backs will have the luxury of keeping him at Triple-A if they're still planning on developing him in the pipeline as a starter. Unless an injury opens up an opportunity for Petit to earn a spot in the back of the rotation out of spring training, look for him to start at Tucson and be among the early callup candidates should Arizona need another arm for the rotation.

2007

Petit held his own in 2006 in a tough environment for pitchers (Triple-A Albuquerque), but his ultra-deceptive delivery and good-enough stuff have one last test to pass in the majors before he'll justify his top prospect status. The steep drop in his K rate at Albuquerque is a concern, however. He's still young, and the Marlins have no need to rush him given all the other young arms they have, so unless he has a breakout spring training expect him to spend at least a few more months in the desert.

2006

Petit, who was the Mets' top prospect, was dealt to Florida in the Carlos Delgado trade. Last year, he blew through Double-A Binghamton to earn three starts at Triple-A Norfolk, where he struggled before tossing a dominant effort in the playoffs. His stuff is considered, at best, slightly above average, but he has tremendous movement and the ability to hide the ball well on his fastball, even though it tops out at 88-90 mph. His solid changeup, slider and curveball have been more effective against righties and he struggled against lefties in 2005. Some of the concerns are his weight (at 6-0, he's 230 lbs.) and how well he'll be able to deceive hitters as he advances up the ladder, though he allayed some of that concern last season. With the Marlins in a rebuilding mode, Petit should be able to make it up to the majors by mid-2006 and projects to be a second or third starter. Some scouts have compared him to Rick Reed in his ability without dominant stuff.

2005

Petit blew through the Mets organization in 2004, reaching Double-A, and now is considered the team's No. 1 pitching prospect. While he doesn’t throw ultra-fast yet, he does have a low-90s fastball that looks faster because of his deceptive delivery and could increase in velocity as his body matures. He also uses a developing changeup, decent curve and slider. What makes him extremely effective is that he throws all these pitches for strikes and has the confidence to throw each in a critical situation. He'll start the year in Double-A, and if he progresses in 2005 like he did last year, he could see Shea Stadium early in 2006.