In yesterday’s curtain call, hitters ruled as eight of the ten best performances from Monday came on the offensive side. The script has been flipped today, as seven of the ten from last night were on the mound. Among some of the highlights from last night was Dylan Bundy making his double-A debut and picking up the win going 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts to three walks for Bowie. Rockies’ 2012 first-round pick David Dahl extended his hitting streak to 25 games with a single for Grand Junction of the Pioneer League. And somehow, Billy Hamilton didn’t steal a base, even though he reached base twice for double-A Pensacola. He did attempt a steal, but was caught stealing and is still sitting at 139 steals for the year, just six away from Vince Coleman’s record of 145 set in 1983. Here are the ten best performance from Tuesday, August 14:
10. Danny Barnes, a 35th-round selection by the Blue Jays in 2010 out of Princeton, picked up his 30th save of the season for class-A Dunedin, striking out three over 1.2 perfect innings. The 6’-1”, right-hander has been nearly untouchable since June 1, allowing just one run over 23.1 innings with 38 K/6 BB and just nine hits allowed. On the season, the 22-year old has a 2.08 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 57 K/16 BB over 46 innings. Barnes struck out 99 batters over 66 innings last season while holding opponents to a .184 batting average.
9. Astros’ prospect Michael Foltynewicz picked up his 14th win of the season, throwing seven scoreless frames for class-A Lexington, with six strikeouts to one walk. The 6’-4”, 200-pound right-hander is a workhorse who should be an innings eater at the next level. On the season, he is 14-3 with a 2.78 ERA and 109 K/53 BB over 139 innings.
8. Royals’ prospect, Jake Odorizzi, tossed seven shutout innings for Omaha, allowing just two hits as the 6’-2”, right-hander picked up his 13th win of the season. On the season, the 22-year old is now 13-4 over 23 games with a 3.04 ERA and 122 K/43 BB over 127.1 innings, including a 2.92 ERA over 15 starts in the PCL, a league known to be rough on pitchers. Odorizzi has a plus fastball that can touch 96 mph, to go along with a plus curveball that he uses to wipe hitters out.
7. Dodgers’ five-tool prospect Joc Pederson went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and two RBI on Tuesday for class-A advanced Rancho Cucamonga. The 6’-1”, left-hander is hitting .400 over his last ten games with five doubles, four home runs, eight RBI and three stolen bases. On the season, the 20-year old is hitting .309 over 92 games with 15 home runs, 51 RBI, 21 stolen bases and a .903 OPS.
6. A 6’-4”, 230-pound, right-hander who can zip his fastball up to 98 mph, Mets’ prospect Jeurys Familia had his best outing of the season on Tuesday, tossing seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts to just one walk. He has overcome the command issues that plagued him early on as he has walked 15 batters over his last 44 innings after walking 52 over his first 75 innings.
5. Julio Teheran looked like the pitcher Braves’ fans have been hoping to see since he busted out as a 19-year old in 2010, posting a 2.59 ERA over 24 games with 159 strikeouts over 142.2 innings. While he hasn’t had success at the major league level, posting a 5.63 ERA over 24 innings, he is still just 21-years old and the talent is there. On Tuesday, he allowed one run over eight innings while striking out nine to no walks for triple-A Gwinnett of the International League. Teheran has three above-average pitches along with great mound presence.
4. Rangers’ 2012 first-round draft pick Lewis Brinson makes his second straight curtain call after another big day at the plate. The 6’-3”, right-hander went 3-for-5 with a double, home run, three RBI and a stolen base as the AZL Rangers knocked off the AZL Angels 11-3. Brinson is now 4-for-8 over his last two games with two home runs and six RBI. On the season, he is hitting .300 with 19 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 33 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
3. The Royals added some serious pitching with their first two draft picks this year. After taking flame thrower Kyle Zimmer with the fifth-overall pick, they grabbed Sam Selman out of Vanderbilt with the 66th-overall selection. The 6’-3”, left-hander has been using his mid-90s fastball to mow down batters all season. He took a tough loss on Tuesday, allowing just one run over six innings while striking out 11 to no walks. Over his last five starts, he has allowed two runs over 27 innings and has struck out 48 batters for a 16 K/9 ratio.
2. Dorssys Paulino, a 17-year old shortstop signed this year out of the Dominican Republic, continues to amaze with his offensive production despite his age. The 6’-0”, right-hander went 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and five RBI on Tuesday for the AZL Indians, and over his last five games, is 11-for-26 .423) with four doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI and four stolen bases. On the season, he is now hitting .344 over 37 games with 13 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 29 RBI, six stolen bases and a .978 OPS. Paulino is the son of former big league pitcher, Jesus Sanchez, who played for four teams between 1998-2004.
1. Tyler Pike, a third-round pick by the Mariners this year, has been the best high school pitcher from the 2012 draft. On Tuesday, the 6’-0”, left-hander tossed six shutout innings, allowing four hits while striking out eight to no walks as the AZL Mariners downed the AZL Brewers 4-0. His dominant performance came on the heels of a five inning no-hitter on August 8 when he struck out four to two walks. On the season, the 18-year old is now 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 42 K/15 BB over 41 innings. He is also holding opponents to a .171 batting average. Pike is a superb control pitcher whose fastball sits in the low-90s, and he also mixes in a change-up and curveball, both of which are already above-average pitches. Twenty-nine prep pitchers went before Pike in the draft. None of them can match his success this season.