Drew Pomeranz earned his second pro win and showed no lingering signs of injury during a five inning start on the 6th. Pom (2-1, 1.85) was erratic, walking four, but allowed just two hits and one run as he fanned five. Barring any further injury setbacks, expect Drew in Akron no later than July. Oh, by the way, his OBA is .185.
Giovanni Soto got knocked around but good in a June 5th loss that evened his record at 4-4. Soto (3.02), who has sandwiched two stinkers around a six shutout, 10 K performance, allowed five earned on nine hits over five innings. Soto just turned 20 in May. You have got time, kid.
Lake County
LeVon Washington (.221) cracked his first professional home run on Wednesday, a two-run shot. Although Washington is just 3-for-his-last-15, he has drawn six walks and stolen a base over those five games. That on-base percentage rounds out to .429, exactly what you want from your leadoff man.
Alex Lavisky continues a growing pained first season that has seen him strike out 61 times in 170 at-bats. Alex (.206) does have seven long balls to his credit and has hit safely in a modest three in a row.
Steven Wright produced the first truly awful start since his conversion to the knuckleballer. Against Wisconsin on the 8th, Wright (1-2, 3.13) lasted just 3.1 innings in surrendering eight earned (11 total) on 12 hits. That is the caveat of the knuckler; if you take the hill and it is flat, you are just throwing BP.
Rob Bryson, the lost arm from the CC Sabathia trade, has finally been activated, after missing the first two months with a broken foot. Bryson has pitched twice, striking out four and giving up just one hit over two strong innings. He made it as far as Akron in 2010 (13.5 K/9 overall) and should move quickly back up as soon as his stamina is proven.
With a name like Goodnight, he has to be good. And so Michael was in hurling six shutout on Tuesday. He allowed three hits and one walk, while whiffing four and inducing 11 ground ball outs. Since a bum start on May 8, Goodnight (5-3, 2.14) is 3-0 with a 0.91 ERA and a .162 OBA. I shall always be rooting for this kid to make it to the North Coast.
Since topping out at .358, local product Anthony Gallas (Strongsville, Kent St) has been mired in a 1-for-20 slump. His average (.327) and OPS (.944) are still exceptional, but Gallas needs to stay strong mentally to avoid prolonging the downward skid.
TNT
Friend of the blog and all-around stand up dude, Tyler Tufts had a streak of six consecutive scoreless appearances ended last night. Ty allowed a run on two hits over two frames and K'ed 3. The most phenomenal number about Tyler is 30-2 K-to-BB ratio overall in 2011 and, following some near unhitability (he fanned all five he faced in over two early week games), he has raised his K/9 to a hearty 10.00 and dropped his WHIP to a glistening 0.96. Ty seems to be completely integrated into AA ball, which means the next level is only a matter of time. All the best, kid.
Cheers.
P.s. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers (or Crappers as they call them in Y-town) open their season next Friday, the 17th.
