I know this gets tossed around a bit, but now I have to make a decision, and I'm looking for some opinions. I have a former #1 draft pick entering his 4th season, and he'll probably break ST with the major league club. Good, not great pitcher, and the scouts really screwed me, because (IIRC) they had him slated at ~20 durability, but he's only grown 1 point. Anyway...

Dur - 11
Sta - 65
Con- 84
vL - 68
vR - 69
Vel- 80
GB- 78
P1 - 82
P2 - 70
P3 - 46

His control and splits may still grow another 3-5 points, I suppose. Everything else is probably about set. I've had him as closer in the minors, not because it's an optimal use, but because I didn't want to worry about shuffling him on and off the inactive list. I've tried him as a tandem starter this spring, which has been the plan since it was apparent that his DUR wasn't going to improve, but it isn't looking like he'll be able to make even 40 pitches every 4 days. I did sign a guy specifically to tandem him with for the season, but if it's 40 pitches every 5 days, he's probably looking at only ~100 innings or so. I'd really like to get that up closer to 150, if at all possible. Any ideas or suggestions on how to make that happen? Or should I go for the "higher leverage" innings, and make him a 2-inning closer? 

www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx

My initial reaction is that he's not good enough to worry over but I don't know your league or your staff.

If you want to maximum innings, you start him.    Set him at 40-50 PC and shuffle the rotation around when he needs an extra day.    He's not going to get 150 innings at 100%. 

You won't be able to get him even close to 150 innings with 11 Dur.  Even starting every 4 days.  I have one team that I use tandem with and those guys have like 55 to 65 stamina and 22 to 30 Dur.  They pitch 3 to 5 innings every 4 days. 

I would probably be looking at putting a guy like that in a Setup role or Closer A and going from there. 

Yeah, I wasn't counting on 150, but there's a pretty good drop-off in stuff after him on my team, so I was hoping closer to 150 than the ~100 I'm looking at now. I thought 125-130 might be reasonable if he could go 40 every 4, but that's not happening.

Well setting him to 50 pitches he will get 3 innings each start.  With an extra rest day or two in the year you are looking at 30 starts at a max of 90 to 100 innings on the year.  I just don't see how he would get much higher than that and stay at 100%.

20/54 and a MUCH better pitcher.   Steady 120-130 IP as a starter.   https://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=5347734

Thanks for the feedback. Confirms what I was afraid of, that there's just no good way to get him much above 100, if that. I may keep him as a closer then, since he's had good success used in that way in the minors.

I wouldn't pitch him as a closer. If he's your best reliever, then every day he is at 100%, I would set him as SuA, set your next best reliever(s) at SuB, and rest any pitcher you don't want in the game. All I use in my pen is SuA and SuB, but any one set up guy might pitch 4 innings. 

Thats what works for me.

If you use all the tools available to you, you can nearbout take complete control of your pitching staff for a game.