Gwinnett made their annual trip to Syracuse this past week, representing the closest opportunity (2.5 hours) for me to see the team play in person. I was fortunate enough to see Tommy Hanson's last minor league start here in 2009 (perhaps that may be another post sometime soon), but then the two games I was planning on attending last year were both rained out and made up at Gwinnett. Fortunately, this year's series saw some beautiful weather.
There was a chance the Triple A team would have Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Arodys Vizcaino and Tyler Pastornicky all at the same time (I saw Mike Minor pitch with Atlanta in June), something I was getting very excited about. But Vizcaino was called up to the bigs to replace Scott Proctor and Pastornicky sprained his ankle the weekend before the series. While I wouldn't see those two, promising prospect JJ Hoover earned the call-up to Gwinnett in the meantime. Delgado was slated to start Tuesday, with Teheran scheduled for Wednesday..so I bought tickets for both games. Well, you know what they say about plans of mice and men...Delgado was called up to Atlanta to fill-in for Hanson and promptly took a no-hitter into the 7th inning. So it was Steven Shell for Gwinnett on Tuesday.
Hoover did make a relief appearance on Tuesday, though, and did not disappoint. His 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB line provides some indication of what Braves fans could see within the next year or two at Turner Field. Wednesday was Julio Teheran's turn. After a rough first two or three innings, it looked like it might be a short night for baseball's top pitching prospect. While his curve ball was buckling knees with regularity, he was having issues commanding his fastball. The gun was showing just 91-92 and they were often hit hard when they found the plate. He settled in from the fourth on, sitting at 94-95 (topped out at 96) and breezing through the Syracuse line-up. By the time his night was over, he had earned his thirteenth win with a 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 3 K, 4 BB performance. Well worth the trip!
 |
| JJ Hoover |
 |
| JJ Hoover |
 |
| He even levitates! |
 |
| He throws THAT fast... |
No comments:
Post a Comment