Post#50 » by TSC25 » Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:22 pm
A's pitchers Gonzalez, Cahill, Simmons dominate the field
No. 1 GIO GONZALEZ, LHP
ATHLETICS
Team: Triple-A Sacramento (Pacific Coast)
Age: 22
Why he's here: 2-0, 0.60, 15 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 BB, 20 SO
The Scoop: When Gonzalez first faced Fresno on June 18, he pitched his best game of the season: eight shutout innings, one hit, 12 strikeouts, no walks. That is, it was his best game of the season until he traveled to Fresno on the Fourth of July. In his second showdown with the Grizzlies, Gonzalez went the full nine innings, struck out 13 batters, walked two and allowed only one run on one hit, a solo homer by left fielder Eugenio Velez. Velez is now in the big leagues. Can it be a coincidence?
Oh yeah, Gonzalez also pitched well in his second start of the week, limiting Colorado Springs to one run on one hit in six innings. That's a grand total of five baserunners in two starts—or exactly one-fourth his strikeout total in that span. And with 110 strikeouts on the year, Gonzalez has taken the PCL lead.
The centerpiece of last offseason's Nick Swisher trade, Gonzalez may be turning a corner in his development at Triple-A. His walks per nine innings rate still is a bit too high, at 4.3, and he pitches much better at home (2.41 ERA vs. 6.79), but over his last five starts, he's gone 4-1, 2.27 with 44 strikeouts, 11 walks and three home runs allowed in 31 2/3 innings. And that's including a six runs in 2 2/3 inning disaster on June 23.
No. 3 TREVOR CAHILL, RHP
ATHLETICS
Team: Double-A Midland (Texas)
Age: 20
Why he's here: 1-0, 0.00, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 SO
The Scoop: Double-A has not yet been the great equalizer for Cahill, who keeps humming along after three solid starts for Midland. He's given up just four runs on eight hits, while striking out 18 and walking eight, in 19 innings. And with a 3.75 groundout-to-fly out mark, he continues to pound the bottom of the zone with his low-90s sinker. Cahill, The minor league strikeout (121) and average (.165) leader, starts today for the RockHounds, leaving his availability for Sunday's Futures Game up in the air.
No. 4 JAMES SIMMONS, RHP
ATHLETICS
Team: Double-A Midland (Texas)
Age: 21
Why he's here: 1-0, 0.00, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 SO
The Scoop: It's the Week of the A's pitcher, with three Oakland farmhands ranking in the top four. Simmons, a first-round pick out of UC Riverside in 2007, has such advanced command that he hasn't spent a day below Double-A—not even a tune-up in the short-season Northwest League after signing last year. He retired the first 10 batters he faced this week, and struck out 11 total, but had to "settle" for an eight-inning two-hitter. With 16-year-old Dominican righty Michel Inoa in tow, Gio Gonzalez improving at Triple-A and lefty Brett Anderson carving up Double-A batters along with Simmons and Trevor Cahill, Oakland's pitching depth is officially the envy of baseball.