To be perfectly blunt, the 2013 minor league season for Daniel Corcino was a disaster. His walk rate was quite high and his strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. His ERA jumped up to 5.86 an he posted a 1.66 WHIP during the year with the Louisville Bats. His control simply wasn’t good enough and it led to him being more hittable and even when guys weren’t hitting the ball, they were still able to reach the bases via the walk.
The right hander is currently pitching for Escodigo in the Dominican Winter League. His time has been limited, working out of the bullpen and only appearing in five games between November 26th and December 14th and totaling just 7.1 innings. While the Dominican Winter League has some Major Leaguers in the league, it probably equates to roughly AA level, so the competition is probably a slight step down from where he pitched in Louisville this year, he has been excellent so far.
In those five appearances and 7.1 innings pitched, Corcino has allowed just 1 earned run (1.23 ERA) with 8 strikeouts and more importantly, not a single walk allowed. He also hasn’t hit a batter (just in case someone was wondering if his control issues were just being hidden by that). His role has been different, but throwing strikes on any kind of consistent basis was a problem for Corcino and so far he has shown that in the winter league that it hasn’t been a problem at all. Whether it lasts is a big question, but it’s a start and a good one at that.