Scott Diamond

Diamond was a surprise breakout player in 2012 and led Minnesota's rotation, but his low velocity and strikeout rate caught up with him in 2013 and he struggled – putting his spot in the 2014 rotation in jeopardy. Diamond doesn't have great velocity (88.6 mph fastball), but he's had success in the minors with a low walk rate and by keeping the ball on the ground. He had a delayed start to his 2013 season after offseason surgery to remove bone chips in his throwing elbow, but it didn't appear to impact him as initially it looked like he would repeat his 2012 success. He had a 3.03 ERA with a 15:3 K:BB ratio in 29.2 innings through six starts. However, he struggled with a 6.13 ERA and 33:37 K:BB ratio over 101.1 innings the rest of the season. His walk rate increased to 2.5 BB/9 and his groundball rate fell to 46.9%. Both figures are decent, but Diamond's poor velocity needs outstanding control considering his strikeout rate fell to just 3.6 K/9. Diamond will contend for a spot in the rotation this spring, but it's possible he's reached his peak and will just add depth at Triple-A.