Geesh! I turn my back for a minute and my Highlanders kick it up a notch... This is good news. I'll tell ya, the Highlanders 21-year-old SP Jeremy Bonderman (9-2, 2.00) sure is looking strong, but I've got my eye on 24-year-old SP Mike F McCormick (6-4, 2.05) too. They're very similar in the stats department, however, McCormick just doesn't walk batters (14 Walks) - he puts their butts right back on the bench (66 Ks - Leading the Footnote League).
Through the Highlanders first 51 games played, McCormick is leading the Footnote League in FIP (2.463), and out of his 10 starts he has been credited with 8 Quality Starts. Clearly, the Highlanders are not giving him acceptable run support and his 6-4 record is proof. I pulled up his ratings a few minutes ago. His fastball is rather pedestrian, but he's got a curveball that'll buckle your knees and leave you cursing...but he's got a weapon you don't often see from LHP. A screwball. A devastating screwball at that...That killer pitch has a rating of 89! Wow. He's a side-arm pitcher too. Lefty hitters must jump out of the box as that pitch rides in on them.
On the other side of the coin, it's nice to see 2B Danny O'Connell doing his thing - quietly batting .320...
They've got a road trip starting up in Detroit, which doesn't appear to be a team of pushovers. Then it's off to Cleveland who's got a firm grip on last place. I'll take a split with Detroit and a sweep in Cleveland, thank you very much!
