Will Dion will soon make his MLB debut as a left-handed reliever for the Guardians.
Cleveland optioned Logan Allen to Columbus and brought Dion up, adding him to the roster to bring it to 40 players.
Dion has put up a quietly outstanding season at Columbus, with a 1.83 FIP and a 12.46/1.73 K/BB/9 innings since being turned into a reliever this season. Oddly enough, his only trouble has come against left-handed hitters who have put up 1.200 OPS against him this year, while right-handed bats have managed
only a .514 OPS. Small sample size? Well, throughout his career, he has put up even splits, so it will be interesting to see if that continues to be the case in a bullpen role.
Dion is only 5’10 but went slightly viral a few years ago for mimicking Clayton Kershaw’s throwing mechanics from his shorter frame.
Dion features a four-seamer that sits at 91, a cutter, a changeup, a curveball, and occasionally a sinker and slider. The changeup is his best out pitch, but he has confidence to throw the cutter and slider in any count.
Dion averages around 21 inches of induced vertical break on his four-seamer which is elite. For comparison, Erik Sabrowski is one of the best pitchers for IVB and averaged 23 inches. It makes a big difference that Sabrowski throws 3-4 mph faster, but Dion’ fastball should still be difficult for hitters to square up. If he can leverage it with getting whiffs on his changeup and curveball, the Guardians have potential for another very effective reliever.
Congratulations to a 9th round draft pick from McNeese state for making the bigs! He will wear 98 and be the first Cleveland baseball player to choose that number. Excited to see what he can do.
