Terry 'Buehrle' Doyle

Scott Merkin:

“There are a lot worse people to be compared to,” said Doyle during a phone interview. “He’s a guy I look up to in our organization. His velocity is not 95 and neither is mine. That’s what our coaches preach: Get on the mound, attack the hitters and throw strikes.

“Over the past 10 years, [Buehrle] has been one of the best pitchers in the game. It’s not the flashiest way to do it, but his results are as good as anyone else.”

… “My goal was to come here hoping that I could show enough to give them faith to add me to the 40-man. I could prove I was good enough to have the chance at pitching in the big leagues.”

If that big league opportunity comes sooner than later for Doyle with the White Sox, it will arrive in relief form for a pitcher who has made 63 of his 75 Minor League appearances as a starter. He has full confidence in being able to transition from the rotation to middle relief, much like Buehrle did for one season in 2000.

One other comparison between the two comes in their Draft selection, with Buehrle taken in the 38th round of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft and Doyle selected in the 37th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Boston College. Doyle’s 381 strikeouts over 422 1/3 innings come as a higher average per inning than Buehrle’s, but the style remains extremely similar.

“One of the things that I do best as a pitcher is throw a lot of strikes,” Doyle said. “If you throw enough strikes, you can pitch successfully in the bullpen and as a starter. That’s my best attribute: not putting guys on base and challenge hitters and keep the game moving as quickly as possible. Make them earn what they are getting.”