Dayne Quist: Rays Give Little Lefty a Chance in Round 28

Don’t read a book by its cover. Don’t assume anything about a pitcher from his size. Dayne Quist faces an uphill battle at 5’10”, 180 and a 5th year senior. But he also has some solid stuff and don’t discount him yet.

Quist, a left-handed pitcher who currently attends UC Davis, came through with his best college season in 2012, going 6-3 with a 3.15 ERA, 85 strikeouts, just 13 walks, and just 2 home runs allowed in 12 starts, including 3 complete games and 2 shutouts, 1 relief appearance, and 85.2 IP. Quist gets by without premium stuff thanks to superlative command of his three pitches, a fastball, a curveball, and a changeup. His fastball is just in the high-80’s but with good sink and he consistently gets it down in the zone. He throws his curveball with solid depth but again he can place it wherever he wants to. And his changeup features nice arm action and again the great command. Quist will never overpower hitters, but he his excellent command makes his entire arsenal play up. His command gives Quist to start moving forward or he could be converted to a relief role where his great command could help him mow lefties down. Quist has no power at all and no sharp movement on his pitches, but his excellent command gives him a chance. He won’t strike out nearly as many guys as he did in college, but especially out of the bullpen, you can’t count him out. If his command is as good as it appears to be, Quist could continue to defy the odds and have a chance to make the big leagues.