Mike Dubee

The son of Phillie pitching coach Rich Dubee, RHP Mike Dubee, 23, was drafted from Okaloosa Walton Community College (he was signed to attend Tennessee) in 2006 in the 18th round, the third time he had been drafted.

Dubee, 6-3, 185 pounds, is considered a fringe-to-average prospect, and has toiled at seven different minor league stops in the past four seasons. In 2007, he was traded to the White Sox for 2B Tad Iguchi, and this year he came to the Bucs for Andy Phillips.

A starter and reliever in the bushes, he pitched in Lynchburg before being promoted to Altoona, working entirely out of the pen and proving capable of filling several roles on the staff. He opened some eyes this year, going 5-1-7 for the Curve, Lynchburg, and Winston-Salem with a 2.14 ERA.

In a combined 71 innings on the hill, he struck out 81 and walked 13 while putting together a whip of 1.107, enjoying a breakout season. He was workmanlike at Altoona, with a 2.91 ERA, but had some problems when batters laid off his soft stuff and sat on the heater.

Dubee features a 90-91 MPH fastball, change, curve, and cutter. He relies on the fastball and changeup, using the hook as his out pitch, and has always been fairly decent at missing bats, with a career 8.2/K per nine innings.

The Pirates like pitchers with size, fastball command, and a viable change-up, but his age (he'll be 24 in January) and pedigree could work against him. At this point, he projects as a mid-inning or set-up pitcher with a potential MLB show-up date of 2012-13.

It's hard to auger Dubee's future with the Pirates. He becomes Rule 5 eligible this year, so we'll find out next month if the Bucs - or for that matter, any major league team - consider him organizational depth or someone with a shot at the bigs. If Dubee dodges that bullet, he'll start 2010 at Altoona, and we'll discover if he's a late bloomer or a guy that had a freak season.

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