The Cardinals have recalled AAA reliever Dennis Dove. He made positive impression this spring by throwing 6.1 scoreless innings and striking out five while walking none. He wasn't as effective in his brief 2007 stint at AAA (13 RA in 12 IP with 7K), but his .200 BAA is encouraging. I have stored his name in the back of my mind because the current Cardinals' closer, Jason Isringhausen, was returning from hip surgery, and there was no clear-cut back-up in St. Louis coming out of the spring.
While I think Brad Thompson has the back-up closer role, it is only tentative until we see who gets saves when Izzy isn't available. As such, Dennis Dove is still worth keeping an eye on. This is only his second season pitching exclusively in relief, so there is room for improvement. Add in the success that Cardinals' pitching coach Dave Duncan has had, Dove could be a pleasant surprise as a do-no-harm middle reliever or as a possible source of saves in the very deep-sleeper sense.
| Year | Team | Lg | Age | Level | W | L | ERA | WHIP | G | GS | SV | IP | H | BB | SO | K9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | New Jersey | NYPL | 22 | A- | 1 | 3 | 3.51 | 1.71 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 25.2 | 29 | 15 | 15 | 5.26 |
| 2004 | New Jersey | NYPL | 23 | A- | 0 | 5 | 8.06 | 1.97 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 22.1 | 31 | 13 | 24 | 9.67 |
| 2004 | Peoria | Midw | 23 | A | 0 | 1 | 4.97 | 1.66 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12.2 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 2.84 |
| 2005 | Quad Cties | Midw | 24 | A | 7 | 5 | 3.88 | 1.21 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 102 | 93 | 30 | 72 | 6.35 |
| 2005 | Palm Beach | FSL | 24 | A+ | 2 | 4 | 4.85 | 1.48 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 42.2 | 48 | 15 | 23 | 4.85 |
| 2006 | Palm Beach | FSL | 25 | A+ | 3 | 3 | 2.81 | 0.99 | 41 | 0 | 4 | 51.1 | 38 | 13 | 56 | 9.82 |
| 2006 | Springfiel | Tex | 25 | AA | 0 | 3 | 8.79 | 1.81 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 18 | 8 | 15 | 9.42 |