Doug Fister is 6’8 but he doesn’t throw hard, to much disappointment.  When you hear about a minor leaguer that is tall enough to be a 3 or a 4 on the hardwood, you assume he’s a fireballer capable of touching triple digits and who is just wild enough to remind hitters what it was like to step up to the plate against that kid in Little League who hit puberty early and was touching 75 MPH from the 46 foot mound.  But Fister is about the opposite of that, and now he’ll be competing for a spot on the 2010 Seattle Mariners as a fifth starter or swing man.

Fister throws a fastball in the high 80s and tons of junk to go with it.  He doesn’t have great stuff, but he has great control, allowing him to pound the zone and let hitters get themselves out.  He’s never been wild in his time with the Mariners organization, but he stepped it up a notch last season, sporting a tiny 1.59 BB/9 (2.42%) with AAA Tacoma and 2.21 BB/9 (5.58%) in his stint with Seattle.  That 2.21 mark beat out strike throwers Chris Jakubauskas, Jarrod Washburn, Jason Vargas and Ryan Rowland-Smith last season, and was only bettered by reliever Shawn Kelley.

Everyone loves a pitcher that pounds the zone.  Walks suck.  They lead to higher pitch counts, longer innings and more runs.  But being able to pound the zone isn’t enough to be a good pitcher in the big leagues.  Strike throwers with lackluster stuff dominate in the low minors and get casual minor league watchers’ hopes up, but as they face better hitters they get hit and hit hard until they come up with some kind of equalizer.  Fister doesn’t currently have that out pitch either, but he can spot his fastball in and out and has a promising changeup and his other secondary offerings aren’t bad.  His long legs could help his fastball appear bigger than it is a la Chris Young, which could be something worth watching for (though based on initial observations I think not).

Fister doesn’t have great upside but can help a team at the back of the rotation.  He may be at a disadvantage this season though, as he is in the same general mold of competitors Vargas and Luke French but is at a disadvantage when it comes to handedness.  Fister is a groundball pitcher against right handers, but gives up a ton of fly balls and subsequently home runs against lefties.  At Safeco Field, that is about the opposite of what you would want.  Fister gave up a whopping 11 homers in his short stint with Seattle, 9 of which were to lefties and hit out to the right side of the outfield.

Fister should have as good a chance at the back of the rotation as Vargas or French or whoever else, but if Seattle is going with a pitch to contact guy I might feel more comfortable with a lefty who is going to get some help from the park.  If Fister can find a way to keep lefties in the yard he could be very solid.  Given that his changeup has some promise, he might be able to figure something out.