THE PAST: Originally signed by Tampa Bay in the sixth round of the 2008 draft, Dyer made slow progress through the Rays system, repeating Lo-A Bowling Green in 2009-10. That 2010 season was his breakout year as he posted a 1.71 ERA in seven starts for Bowling Green to earn a promotion to Hi-A Charlotte in the Florida State League, where he had a 3.17 ERA in 17 appearances. In 2011 he made 28 starts for Double-A Montgomery and was 7-11 with a 4.47 ERA, while last season he split time between Montgomery (4-3, 2.85 ERA) and Triple-A Durham (1-3, 7.34 ERA).
THE FUTURE: Dyer will turn just 25 in March, making him a young pitcher in baseball’s eyes. He throws both a sinker and a cutter, which leads to low strikeout rates but high ground-ball rates. It will be interesting to see if he is used as a starter or reliever in the coming season: he relieved for the first extended period while with Montgomery in the second half of last season, and his numbers as a starter (4-2, 2.53 ERA, 14 walks/3 hit batsmen/1 wild pitch in 42.2 innings) were better than his numbers as a reliever (0-1, 3.42 ERA, 11 walks/2 hit batsmen/2 wild pitches in 23.2 innings)
WORTH NOTING: The Rays thought enough of Dyer to place him in the Arizona Fall League in 2011. He made six starts for Surprise and was 2-1 with a 4.38 ERA, allowing 28 hits while walking nine with 10 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. … While with Montgomery this past season, Dyer was a teammate of recent Tigers Rule 5 pick Kyle Lobstein. … Dyer comes from the same high school, Eaton High School in Colorado, as C Bennett Pickar, an 11t-round pick by the Tigers in the 2012 draft.
WANT MORE? Click here to read an interesting analysis of Dyer pitching in the Arizona Fall League in 2011.
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