Taking the mound by storm

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Naugatuck native Pat Dean is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three starts for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. -BARE ANTOLOS/ROCHESTER RED WINGS
Naugatuck native Pat Dean is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three starts for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. -BARE ANTOLOS/ROCHESTER RED WINGS

Pat Dean has taken the hill by storm for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

Dean, a lefthander from Naugatuck and third round draft pick in 2010 out of Boston College, earned the International League pitcher of the week award on April 24 as a starter for the affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

Not too bad for a pitcher who was rumored to start the season on the DL until a spot opened up for him between Double-A Chattanooga and Rochester. Right before the season, Dean was sent to Rochester to work out of the bullpen.

The day before the season started Trevor May was called up to Minnesota and Dean was penciled in the starting rotation. In two weeks he is not only a solid fixture on the staff, but one of the league leaders in the International League.

“There was talk that I might start the season on the DL until a spot opened up and then I was assigned to the bullpen in Rochester,” Dean said. “That lasted 24 hours and I’m just trying to make the most of my opportunities. You can’t get too carried away about a couple of starts. It’s a long season, and I just need to stay focused on one pitch at a time.”

On April 14, Dean went six innings allowing four hits and one run with eight strikeouts in a win over the Scranton Railriders. That earned a second start against the top team in the league, the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Dean was masterful again.

After being put on the ropes with the bases loaded and no outs in the first inning, Dean struck out the next two batters and went on to retire 18 of the final 20 batters he faced. He went six innings allowing two hits, no runs and striking out seven.

For Dean, pitching in Triple-A is old hat. He finished 2013 with the Red Wings and helped Rochester to the playoffs, compiling a 3-2 record with a microscopic 2.03 ERA.
But, last season he was rendered to Double-A duty in New Britain where he struggled.

Dean tossed 144 innings and allowed 192 hits with a 4.93 ERA while compiling an 8-9 ledger.

The former Naugatuck Greyhound turned the corner in his final start last season, though. He tossed eight innings of three-hit shutout ball against Altoona.

The Twins then sent Dean to winter ball in the Dominican League where he gained valuable experience from the grizzly veterans of the league.

“I learned an awful lot from a lot of those veteran guys in winter ball,” Dean said. “The best advice was: you can’t focus on one game at a time or one batter at a time. You need to break it down to one pitch at a time and not get too far ahead of yourself. That may have been the problem in the past along with ditching my slider. But I have a lot of confidence in all four of my pitches now and a lot of this game is pitching with confidence.”

Dean has taken those lessons into this season and the results are showing on the mound.
The jury may still be out on Dean, but in his start on Sunday certainly got the phones ringing in Minnesota. The crafty lefty worked eight innings. He scattered six hits, allowed one run and struck out seven in a 101-pitch masterpiece that saw him throw 70 strikes and just 31 balls.

Dean is 2-0 with a stingy 0.95 ERA in three starts. He has given up 12 hits in 20 innings and has 22 strikeouts and five walks. That has turned more than few heads in the organization, as Dean remains among the top in several pitching categories among International League pitchers.

For a pitcher that survived the Rule 5 draft in December and who is eligible for free agency in 2016, Dean is giving the Minnesota organization something to think about.