KT 65.09—Des Moines will use 4-man rotation the rest of the spring

[JRamirez]

Lotta clubs use a six-man rotation during spring training. Des Moines, instead will employ a four-man starting rotation, consisting of her four expected regular season workhouse starters—Danny Tabb (13-11), Jon Brown (3-8), Almos Amaya (13-8), Steven Clayton (12-7)—throughout her remaining 20 spring training contests, thus giving five starts to each hurler, the quartet having sat out the first ten games of spring ball.

So who did Des Moines start her first ten games?

Javier 'Optimus' Duarte, whose high work ethic and adaptability can't rid him of the injury bug

First, Javier Duarte (3-1), who is expected to be the No. 5 man in the regular season rotation, and who is also expected to suffer an injury every other week. He's already laid up.

"To keep it curt, Optimus failed conditioning this offseason and if, or when, he suffers an injury longer than a week, he'll probably spend the rest of the way on the IL, like he did last year for half the season," explained trainer Arturo Durán, whose "outstanding" rating in preventing leg injuries doesn't seem to apply to Duarte.

Otherwise, it was "the kids" who started the Kernels first ten games.



That includes 20-y.o. southpaw sophomore Víctor Trevino (7-6-5), who will be moved to a co-stopper role this spring. His partner in co-stopparage will be 24-y.o. Cipriano Díaz (POT 80), who was 1-1 in his two spring starts. Last year Díaz (OVR 45 POT 80) tossed 78 innings in 68 games for Class A El Paso and, since he turns 25 in two weeks, probably needs to make the bigs this year. Both he and Trevino have endurance rating of 3 and could be used as openers or even followers.



José Gonzáles, at age 22 the BBA's No. 5-ranked prospect, and Harry Harrelson also started twice this spring. Gonzáles (10/6/7 POT, currently 6/4/4) still has some seasoning left to do at the city at the Western Tip of Texas; nevertheless, he struck out seven of the 21 batters he faced in his two starts.

Harrelson, acquired in August for Tulon Korutürk, has been the most effective Des Moines starter: in eight innings, he has allowed eight hits and one earned run. He has two more option years and will start the season at the aforementioned Chucotown.


Cipriano Díaz, with his national award-winning "chevron mustache" clad in El Paso attire

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Off Topic

Chevron Mustache Characteristics:
Full and wide across the upper lip

Thick and dense, often with a slight downward curve at the ends

No gap in the center — unlike a horseshoe or handlebar

Popularized by figures such as Tom Selleck and Freddie Mercury

[Jwalk100]

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