Oakland Athletics: Rookie Reliever Ryan Dull Should Start 2016 in Triple-A

Because the Oakland Athletics had a dismal season and no chance at making the postseason, they used their roster expansion in September as a time to evaluate how some of their prospects would perform at the Major League level. One minor leaguer that really shined was relief pitcher Ryan Dull. After the A’s 2015 bullpen implosion, Dull was a breath of fresh air.

In his first eight appearances in an Oakland uniform, Dull pitched 11 scoreless innings and only allowed only three hits. Even though he hit a little bit of a rough patch after September 18, Dull proved that he could pitch at the Major League level. Because of his success, many fans want him to join the A’s 2016 bullpen. However, Dull should really start the upcoming season in Triple-A.

For being a 32nd round draft pick in 2012, Dull have quickly moved up the Minor League ladder. By mid-2015, Dull had already made it to Triple-A. However, he only spent a little over a month with the A’s Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, before being called up to the big leagues. As a result, he only pitched a total of 16 innings at the Triple-A level. In comparison, Dull threw 17 innings for Oakland in the final month of the season.

Even if Dull has a strong spring training with the Oakland Athletics, it would be beneficial for Dull to stay in Triple-A for at least half the season. The A’s know that he is always an option they can turn to should they need another relief arm in the bullpen, but he needs to gain more experience pitching against players who have more playing time under their belts.

As pointed out by Wayne Cavadi of SB Nation’s Minor League Ball, Dull seems to find the most success against less experienced batters. More experience players tend to quickly figure out Dull’s pitching technique. Perhaps this is why opponents were finally able to strike against Dull toward the end of September and into October. He gave up six runs in the last 4.1 innings he pitched for the Athletics, which caused his ERA to jump to 4.24.

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For Dull, being called up in September in 2015 was a great opportunity. He proved that he will be able pitch at the Major League level sometime soon. However, he needs to start the 2016 in Triple-A in order to gain more experience at a higher level and to validate that the success he found this past year was not a fluke.