This is the June edition of my minor league starting pitchers review. Who is hot, who is cold? Who is getting by on smoke and mirrors?
I have been tracking start by start statistics for all minor league starting pitchers. I have been adding this information to our prospect pages, such as this one for David Bush, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Start of the Month
No prizes for this one, Jamie Vermilyea's perfect game was the start of the month.
Start of the Month by team
Syracuse: The enigmatic Chris Baker ties with Ryan Glynn. Baker has had three of the best starts of the year for the Chiefs. He also has several of the worst. He is the most unpredictable Chief starter. He has since lost his spot in the starting rotation. Glynn has been getting better since he was reunited with his old pitching coach Brad Arnsberg.
New Hampshire: Vermilyea takes the title. Cam Reimers and Josh Banks also had excellent starts
Dunedin: Neomar Flores and Vince Perkins
Charleston: Tom Mastny takes it again
Those are the best single starts of the month. Now we need to know who was the most consistent pitcher. Jamie Vermilyea, with four starts for Dunedin and New Hampshire was the best.
The leaders were:
Most Forgettable start of the month
On June 18th, Ramon Mora pitched 2 innings, giving up twelve runs on thirteen hits.
Biggest change in June
David Bush, and Neomar Flores made the biggest improvements. Gustavo Chacin, Kurt Isenberg, and Ismael Ramirez went backward. See detailed comments below.
Pitcher Commentary
David Bush put it together in June. A 2.60 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP earned him the promotion. I had noted in May that 50% of his baserunners came around to score. This is a very high rate and I predicted it could not be sustained. In June Bush allowed 32% of his hits and walks to score, a much more normal rate.
Sean Douglass deserves a mention. After ERA's of 10.13 in April, and 6.65 in May, Sean had a much better ERA of 3.90 in June. Sean reduced his WHIP from over 2 to a respectable 1.30 in June.
Cam Reimers' June was very like May, except for runs allowed. Reimers WHIP was 1.15 in May and 1.07 in June. His ERA was 3.29 in May and 1.88 in June. He allowed very few baserunners to score in June and his ERA is low as a result. The knock on Reimers is his K rate which hovers around 4. It is tough to succeed in the big leagues unless you strike out more hitters. Reimers was promoted to AAA and makes his first start tonight.
Gustavo Chacin's June was bad, a 7.71 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP.
Josh Banks' jumped to AA in June and has had his ups and downs. Last year David Bush became the poster boy for second round picks who rush through the system. Bush had a 2.78 ERA in a half season at AA. Banks is unlikely to repeat that performance. His AA ERA in June was greater than 8. However there have been flashes of good pitching and Banks might be settling in.
Kurt Isenberg has lost "it". A WHIP of greater than 2 and an ERA over 8 while moving backwards in the system is bad news. Let's hope he finds "it" again.
Ismael Ramirez is like Cam Reimers. He does not allow many hits or concede many walks but his K/9 is poor. His ERA jumped over 5 in June and his WHIP jumped from 1.07 in May to 1.44 in June.
Neomar Flores had a great June. His ERA dropped from over 10 in May to 1.69 in June. I don't know what he did but he might want to keep it going.
Shaun Marcum was promoted despite not having a great ERA. It was over 4 in June and 3.89 in May. Marcum's numbers are somewhat like David Bush's. He allows more than a hit per inning, he walks very few and has a K/9 over 10. It looks like he has the stuff he just needs to learn where to put it.
Tom Mastny had a June ERA of 1.50 and a WHIP of 1.22. For some reason his walk numbers went up while his K's went down. He might be trying something new.
Justin James ERA went down while his WHIP went up. Like Mastny his walk numbers were up and his K's were down, maybe there was something in the air.
Reliever Spotlight
I have not been tracking reliever appearances but a scan through the statistics highlights some pitchers.
Kevin Frederick was promoted to AAA and he did not skip a beat. His AAA ERA is under 1, as is his WHIP. His K/9 is down to 7.1
Brandon League had an excellent June especially the back half. His WHIP was under 1 for the month.
Adam Peterson did not allow a run in June with a 0.6 WHIP and a K/9 rate over 12.
At Dundedin Bubbie Buzachero continues to have a WHIP around 1, an ERA between 1 and 2, and a K/9 rate over 10.
Brian Reed was rocked in his first appearance in Dunedin. He has pitched well since then and has not walked a batter there in five June innings.
I have been tracking start by start statistics for all minor league starting pitchers. I have been adding this information to our prospect pages, such as this one for David Bush, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Start of the Month
No prizes for this one, Jamie Vermilyea's perfect game was the start of the month.
Start of the Month by team
Syracuse: The enigmatic Chris Baker ties with Ryan Glynn. Baker has had three of the best starts of the year for the Chiefs. He also has several of the worst. He is the most unpredictable Chief starter. He has since lost his spot in the starting rotation. Glynn has been getting better since he was reunited with his old pitching coach Brad Arnsberg.
Chris Baker - Jun 9, 8 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 R
Ryan Glynn - Jun 26, 8 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 6 K, 0 R
New Hampshire: Vermilyea takes the title. Cam Reimers and Josh Banks also had excellent starts
Jamie Vermilyea - Jun 28, 7 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 R
Josh Banks - Jun 12, 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K, 0 R
Cam Reimers - Jun 13, 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 R
Dunedin: Neomar Flores and Vince Perkins
Neomar Flores - Jun 17, 7 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 R
Vince Perkins - Jun 29, 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 R, unearned
Charleston: Tom Mastny takes it again
Tom Mastny - Jun 22, 7 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 0 R
Tom Mastny - Jun 27, 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 R
Justin James - Jun 10, 6 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 9 K, 0 R
Danny Core - Jun 25, 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 R
Those are the best single starts of the month. Now we need to know who was the most consistent pitcher. Jamie Vermilyea, with four starts for Dunedin and New Hampshire was the best.
The leaders were:
Jamie Vermilyea 4 starts; 1.55 ERA, 0.78 WHIP
David Bush 5 starts; 2.63 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
Tom Mastny 6 starts; 1.50 ERA, 1.22 WHIP
Cam Reimers 6 starts; 2.13 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
Most Forgettable start of the month
On June 18th, Ramon Mora pitched 2 innings, giving up twelve runs on thirteen hits.
Biggest change in June
David Bush,
Pitcher Commentary
David Bush put it together in June. A 2.60 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP earned him the promotion. I had noted in May that 50% of his baserunners came around to score. This is a very high rate and I predicted it could not be sustained. In June Bush allowed 32% of his hits and walks to score, a much more normal rate.
Sean Douglass deserves a mention. After ERA's of 10.13 in April, and 6.65 in May, Sean had a much better ERA of 3.90 in June. Sean reduced his WHIP from over 2 to a respectable 1.30 in June.
Cam Reimers' June was very like May, except for runs allowed. Reimers WHIP was 1.15 in May and 1.07 in June. His ERA was 3.29 in May and 1.88 in June. He allowed very few baserunners to score in June and his ERA is low as a result. The knock on Reimers is his K rate which hovers around 4. It is tough to succeed in the big leagues unless you strike out more hitters. Reimers was promoted to AAA and makes his first start tonight.
Gustavo Chacin's June was bad, a 7.71 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP.
Josh Banks' jumped to AA in June and has had his ups and downs. Last year David Bush became the poster boy for second round picks who rush through the system. Bush had a 2.78 ERA in a half season at AA. Banks is unlikely to repeat that performance. His AA ERA in June was greater than 8. However there have been flashes of good pitching and Banks might be settling in.
Kurt Isenberg has lost "it". A WHIP of greater than 2 and an ERA over 8 while moving backwards in the system is bad news. Let's hope he finds "it" again.
Ismael Ramirez is like Cam Reimers. He does not allow many hits or concede many walks but his K/9 is poor. His ERA jumped over 5 in June and his WHIP jumped from 1.07 in May to 1.44 in June.
Neomar Flores had a great June. His ERA dropped from over 10 in May to 1.69 in June. I don't know what he did but he might want to keep it going.
Shaun Marcum was promoted despite not having a great ERA. It was over 4 in June and 3.89 in May. Marcum's numbers are somewhat like David Bush's. He allows more than a hit per inning, he walks very few and has a K/9 over 10. It looks like he has the stuff he just needs to learn where to put it.
Tom Mastny had a June ERA of 1.50 and a WHIP of 1.22. For some reason his walk numbers went up while his K's went down. He might be trying something new.
Justin James ERA went down while his WHIP went up. Like Mastny his walk numbers were up and his K's were down, maybe there was something in the air.
Reliever Spotlight
I have not been tracking reliever appearances but a scan through the statistics highlights some pitchers.
Kevin Frederick was promoted to AAA and he did not skip a beat. His AAA ERA is under 1, as is his WHIP. His K/9 is down to 7.1
Brandon League had an excellent June especially the back half. His WHIP was under 1 for the month.
Adam Peterson did not allow a run in June with a 0.6 WHIP and a K/9 rate over 12.
At Dundedin Bubbie Buzachero continues to have a WHIP around 1, an ERA between 1 and 2, and a K/9 rate over 10.
Brian Reed was rocked in his first appearance in Dunedin. He has pitched well since then and has not walked a batter there in five June innings.
