PHIL DUMATRAIT

7/12/81; '00 1st (Boston); Bakersfield JC
R/L; 6-2, 200

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
HR
BB
K
BB/9
K/9
WHIP
OAVG
ERA
2000 R (Bos)
0-1-0
6
6
16.1
10
0
12
12
6.61
6.61
1.35
.172
1.65
2001 A- (Bos)
1-1-0
2
2
10.1
9
0
4
15
3.48
13.07
1.26
.225
3.48
2001 R (Bos)
3-0-0
8
8
32.2
27
0
9
33
2.48
9.09
1.10
.229
2.76
2002 A+ (Bos)
0-2-0
4
4
14.0
10
0
15
16
9.64
10.29
1.79
.192
3.86
2002 A (Bos)
8-5-0
22
22
120.1
109
5
47
108
3.52
8.08
1.30
.249
2.77
2003 A+ (Bos)
7-5-1
21
20
104.1
74
4
59
74
5.09
6.38
1.27
.204
3.02
2003 A+ (Cinn)
4-1-0
7
7
37.2
36
2
14
32
3.35
7.65
1.33
.248
3.35
2004 INJURED
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2005 AA (Cinn)
4-12-0
24
24
127.2
115
4
70
101
4.93
7.12
1.45
.245
3.17
2005 A+ (Cinn)
0-0-0
3
2
10.0
8
0
3
13
2.70
11.70
1.10
.211
2.70
2006 AAA (Cinn)
5-7-0
16
15
87.2
104
10
36
58
3.70
5.95
1.60
.301
4.72
2006 AA (Cinn)
3-4-0
10
10
49.2
39
4
22
45
3.99
8.16
1.23
.218
3.62
2007 NL (Cinn)
0-4-0
6
6
18.0
39
6
12
9
6.00
4.50
2.83
.448
15.00
2007 AAA (Cinn)
10-6-0
22
22
125.0
114
10
49
76
3.53
5.47
1.30
.242
3.53
2008 NL
3-4-0
21
11
78.2
82
7
42
52
4.81
5.95
1.58
.271
5.26

The Pirates claimed Dumatrait on waivers from the Reds.  He was once considered one of their top prospects, but got derailed by Tommy John surgery that kept him out for the 2004 season.  Even so, Baseball America rated him as the 16th best prospect in a very shallow Reds system before the 2007 season.

Dumatrait was generally very successful in the minors before the surgery, but never had good BB and K numbers.  In some years, both before and since the surgery, he had serious control problems.  He struggled after the surgery, but no more than you'd expect, and he seemed to get back on track in AAA in 2007.  In the majors, however, he couldn't get anybody out at all.  He was much tougher against LH batters in 2006, but had no platoon split in AAA in 2007.

Dumatrait had never been tried as a reliever, but the Pirates went into spring training in an odd situation.  Their rotation was set in stone, but they had no starting depth to speak of, beyond struggling, post-surgery prospects like Bryan Bullington and John Van Benschoten.  They were pretty obviously focused on Dumatrait as a long reliever who'd serve as starting depth.  He pitched well enough to make the team and did reasonably well as a reliever, with a 3.92 ERA.  His stuff was better than advertised, as his fastball generally edged into the low 90s and his offspeed stuff was decent at worst.  When Matt Morris predictably proved to be a disaster, Dumatrait moved into the rotation and for a while was the Pirates' best starter.  In his first eight starts his ERA was 3.22, but he got bombed in his last three outings and then went on the disabled list with a sore shoulder.  After the prescribed period of rest, his rehab didn't go well and he eventually had minor surgery to alleviate an impingement in the shoulder, which ended his season.  He was expected to be fully healthy by spring training, but he suffered a series of setbacks, mainly soreness, during his efforts to rehab.  He'll open the season on the DL and it's unclear when he'll be able to go to AAA on a rehab assignment.

The delays are unfortunate, because it's still uncertain what the Pirates have in Dumatrait.  Even when he was pitching very well, his walk and strikeout numbers weren't good.  He also tended to struggle more after about 45 pitches, as he allowed an OPS of .965 on pitches 46-60 and 1.023 on pitches 76-90.  He was just getting used to the role of major league starter, though, and still has only 17 starts at that level.  Paul Maholm's BB and K numbers improved significantly after his first full season, so the same could happen with Dumatrait.

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