With the start of Spring Training it’s a good idea to get an idea who the final roster spots might go to. The Cubs are pretty set at all the starting positions but the last few spots may be up for grabs. Now is a good time to get an idea of who those final spots might go to, starting with left-handed pitcher Brian Duensing.

Duensing was a two way star at Millard South High School in Omaha, Nebraska. His Junior and Senior season he was named to second team all-state honors while also excelling in American Legion Ball. As a senior he pitched to a 9-1 record with a 0.74 ERA and 67 strikeouts while also posting a .522 batting average. Not only was he a great high school player but a student as well as he made the honor roll and posted a 3.6 GPA. He considered Creighton but in the end decided on attending the University of Nebraska.

Duensing made an impact as a Freshman at Nebraska making 12 starts in 18 appearances. Initially just a week day starter he moved into the weekend rotation after an injury to another player. He gave a dominant performance over #15 Oklahoma State and solid performances against other Big 12 rivals. He made an impact in the post season as well, pitching out of the bullpen and including 11.2 scoreless innings in the NCAA Regional and Super Regional before allowing 3 runs. His season culminated in a start against South Carolina in the College World Series although he gave up 4 runs and received a no decision. His final Freshman Season numbers were as follows.

IP ERA W-L SO BB 78 4.73 6-2 60 25

His sophomore season looked to be even better than his Freshman season as took a no-hitter into the 6th inning in his first start of the season. He threw a complete-game shutout against #7 Wake Forest at the Dairy Queen Classic and earned all-tournament honors as well as Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. Unfortunately his season was cut short due to an injury, he would miss the rest of his sophomore season and would receive a medical redshirt for his junior season as his injury required Tommy John surgery. His final sophomore season numbers were as follows.

IP ERA W-L SO BB 22.1 2.42 3-0 24 6

In 2005 he came back strong from Tommy John surgery posting solid numbers and earning honorable mention All-Big 12 and first team Academic All-Big 12 Honors. This Nebraska team was pretty good as well as they went 36-23, wont the Big 12 and were ranked 6th in the country. The roster featured several MLB players including Kansas City Royals star Alex Gordon. They made it to the College World Series but fell to Arizona State in the tournament. Brian Duensings numbers were as follows.

IP ERA W-L SO BB 84 3.00 8-0 52 28

After his strong 2005 season he was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft. He only briefly pitched in 2005 as he had already pitched a long college season. In 2006 Minor League Ball ranked Duensing the #17 prospect in the Twins Organization and rated him a C+ prospect. The scouting reports showed that he featured a Fastball that sat in the upper 80’s to low 90’s with good groundball inducing sink. His other pitches included a ¾ slider with tight sharp rotation and a plus changeup that he could spot anywhere. He was considered a true “pitcher” who knew how to pitch but could get occasionally wild.In 2006 he rocketed through the minors making it from A ball to A+ and finally AA. He posted the following numbers over those 3 levels.

IP ERA W-L SO BB 160 3.49 5-10 118 40

In 2007 Minor League ball ranked him as the Twins #15 prospect in the Organization and rated as a C+ Prospect. Duensing clearly seemed like the type of player who was polished enough to quickly make it to the majors but had a ceiling of a back end starter or solid relief pitcher. In 2007 he posted solid numbers at AA and AAA but leveled off at AAA in 2008 although he did get to play for the Bronze winning U.S. Olympic Baseball Team. In 2009 he received a mid-season call up to the majors and pitched well as a swing man. The 2009 Twins team that he joined was actually pretty good, going 87-76 but got swept by the Yankees in the ALDS. Duensings rookie numbers with the Twins were as follows.

IP ERA/FIP K/9 BB/9 WAR 84 3.64/4.13 5.68 3.32 0.8

From 2009 on Duensing would be a regular on the Twins roster. In 2010 he continued in the swing man role pitching 130.2 innings, posting a 2.62 ERA and being worth 1.5 WAR. The Twins again had a good regular season but again got swept by the Yankees in the ALDS. In 2011 Duensing was slotted into the rotation making 28 starts and pitching 161.2 innings but things did not go well. He posted a 5.23 ERA and gave up 21 HR and this really showed Duensings weaknesses as a starter. In 2012 he moved back into his swing man role only making 11 starts and pitching 109 innings but he still struggled and posted a 5.12 ERA. 2012 was the last season Duensing made any starts and he would settle in as middle reliever. 2013 was his best season as a reliever and the numbers from that season are below.

IP ERA/FIP K/9 BB/9 WAR 61 3.98/3.24 8.26 3.25 0.8

From 2011 to 2014 the Twins would never get above 70 wins and Duensing would serve as a solid but unspectacular middle reliever. He pitched 45-50 innings of upper 3 to low 4 ERA ball with low strikeout totals. He pitched with the Twins through 2015 before being granted Free Agency in November of 2016. He signed as a minor league free agent with the Royals and pitched 20.1 solid innings for the Royals AAA affiliate. Since he did not make the Royals major league roster he was released from his contract in May and signed with the Orioles and got a shot at the majors again. He pitched 13.1 solid innings before injuring his elbow in a bizarre accident while moving a bullpen chair and ended up requiring surgery.

All in all Brian Duensing’s story is a familiar one, a solid college pitcher who is polished but unspectacular that makes it to the majors quickly and settles in as a middle reliever. While he may not be the most exciting player he is certainly a useful one. For the Cubs he would only be a lefty specialist if he makes the team and if you examine the numbers you can see why.

Matchup IP FIP K/9 BB/9 AVG HR/9 v.s. L 233.1 2.85 7.17 1.93 .232 0.39 v.s R 429.1 4.74 5.28 3.38 .289 1.17

The numbers v.s. lefthanded hitters definitely makes him worthy of a roster spot and there are not a lot of experienced lefty relievers in the Cubs pen. I would guess he gets one of the last rosters spots to start the season. He provides a solid option against left handed hitters and seems like a pretty nice guy too. He does good charity work through his foundation, to learn more follow this link http://www.thebrianduensingfoundation.org/about . That sums up Brian Duensing’s story but if you want to see some actually video of him check out some of the links below that include his career highlights and mechanics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpAVYWfmNlk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccBY_ydXgy0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpAVYWfmNlk