Mormon Baseball

Posts Tagged ‘Mitch Talbot’

Matthew Neil

Former BYU pitcher Matt Neil was promoted by the Marlins to their AAA club, the New Orleans Zephyrs, and pitched well in his first AAA start, lasting six innings while giving up just 2 hits and 1 run. The move puts Neil on the same team with vetran pitcher Mitch Talbot (also Mormon), who has returned to the U.S. after playing in Korea. Talbot is currently on the DL, and hasn’t played since April 7th.

Neil’s pitching performance was matched by another prospect, but in the AA Eastern League. Nik Turley, currently with the Yankees’ affiliate Trenton Thunder, also lasted 6 innings and gave up just 1 run, but Turley struck out 6 and walked 2 in his outing. And with Turley on the Yankees 40-man roster, he seems more likely to make an appearance in the majors.

Also pitching well this week was the Blue Jay’s Josh Johnson, who lasted 3 innings in a rehab assignment with the Dunedin Blue Jays (Florida State League, A+) and gave up just 1 run while striking out 5.

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There might be more to say about the Mormons in the minors this week if so many weren’t on the disabled list. A week ago Bryan Harper and Mitch Talbot were on the 7-day list, and this past week they were joined by Cale Iorg and Mitch Maier. And only Harper seems ready to return to play.

And while they are out, there isn’t too much to focus on.The best performance was from Jacksonville Suns’ pitcher Matt Neil, who gave up just 1 earned run in 5 innings, but failed to earn hist first win of the year when his team lost the game after he left the field. Neil has brought his era down to 4.79 and seems to have settled down to his standard pitching form, we hope.

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Somewhat surprisingly, the story of  Mormons in the minor leagues last week was a pitching story. The assumption I ususally make is that pitchers need time to warm up to the season—they often don’t perform well for the first few games of the year. But the Mormon pitchers in the minors were split 50/50 for the past week—half pitching well and half poorly.

[Most of the Mormons (9 of 15 players) we know about in the minors are pitchers—likely because we don't have a very complete list.]

Perhaps the strongest performance last week was from the Lansing Lugnuts’ Taylor Cole, who struck out 7 and blanked the Lake County Captains over 6 innings for a win. But not far behind Cole was the veteran Mitch Talbot, currently with the New Orleans Zephyrs, who notched a win in 5 innings, also without giving up a run. And reliever Bryan Harper (Bryce’s older brother) earned a 0.00 era in 1 1/3rd innings of relief last week.

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Can we still say “no joy in mudville” if Casey doesn’t get a hit, but also doesn’t strike out? In yesterday’s game against the Cardinals, Bryce Harper didn’t strike out, but he also didn’t get a hit in 5 trips to the plate. His postseason average is down to .067! Perhaps post season pitching is just that much better? too much for a 19-year-old rookie?

At least Harper is getting a chance. The Oakland As backup 2nd baseman, Adam Rosales, still hasn’t reached the plate. For Rosales and the As everything is on the line in tonight’s game against the Tigers; the two teams are tied in their series at 2 games apiece.

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The first weekend of April is a time when we look for information, for an understanding of the changes that have happened in the last six months and how that will help us prepare for the next six months.

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