San Diego Padres: Dinelson Lamet Is Set To Break Out

We got our first glimpse at the 2018 version of one of the handful of San Diego Padres’ young pitchers that are expected to play much larger roles this season. Though he wasn’t flawless, there were certainly more than a few positives to take away.

San Diego Padres’ pitcher Dinelson Lamet is an imposing figure. Standing at 6’4″ and weighing around 185lbs, we’re starting to see Lamet throw with a little more confidence than he has in the past. He’s even trying to develop a new pitch to add to his arsenal for the upcoming season.

Some reports have claimed that he’s trying to add a changeup to go along with his fastballs and deadly slider. Others have said it’s a curveball that he’s working on. Either way, another off-speed pitch to keep batters off-balance certainly couldn’t hurt, right?

Although Lamet’s stats at the major league-level are nothing to write home about, his potential has been easy to see. In a small(ish) sample-size (21 starts), Lamet showed promise. His 1.242 WHIP wasn’t great, but it was good; especially for a rookie.

His 10.9 strikeouts-per-nine innings is the statistic that really jumps out at me, though. It’s obvious that Lamet is slowly but surely getting the feel for at which times to use what pitch and what adjustments are needed to be made on a batter-to-batter basis at the major league level.

San Diego Padres see potential in Lamet

Dinelson Lamet had a bit of an up-and-down season last year, with his month-to-month ERA jumping from 2.70 in May, 6.33 in June, 6.10 in July, down to 2.54 in August, before jumping back up to 4.45 in September.

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Clearly, MLB hitters were able to make adjustments before Lamet was able to. Once he made the necessary changes after getting beat up in June and July, his performance in August greatly benefitted.

Once hitters caught on to his new tricks, they adapted once again, and Lamet faltered toward the end of the season.

It’s the circle of a young ballplayer’s life; always try to stay two steps ahead of them and once they catch up, make the necessary adjustments.

San Diego Padres are expecting a lot from Dinelson Lamet

Yesterday in 2 IP, Dinelson Lamet did anything but breeze through his first 2018 outing for the San Diego Padres. His location seemed come-and-go. He was keeping his pitches low until he gave up a quick double. Then, a little rattled, he was able to get the next batter out but proceeded to give up a monster home run to the next batter.

It’s Spring Training, and this is the exact purpose this time in Arizona is supposed to serve. The Friars are in Peoria to work out the kinks and start the season in top form.

At times yesterday, Dinelson Lamet looked fantastic. His ability to keep batters guessing was obvious in the handful of awkward swings-and-misses he induced. He’ll undoubtedly need to put together all of the puzzle-pieces over the next month-or-so. The Friars are hoping for a big year out of their 25-year-old right-hander.

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As the spring wears on, we should expect to see highs and lows out of Dinelson Lamet. Hopefully, he figures it all out by April because the San Diego Padres are expecting a lot out of him. I have a feeling Dinelson Lamet is expecting big things for himself, too.