TOP NL UTR PITCHING PERFORMANCE LHP Joey Lucchesi (HiA Lake Elsinore – San Diego) 23 years old 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 12 K, Loss Season Stats: 4-3, 2.41 ERA, 59.2 IP, 43 H, 16 ER, 17 BB, 76 K in 11 starts
- Lucchesi got off to a hot start in the season with an April 0.86 ERA. This earned him the UTR Top Prospect for the month within the Padres system. It looked like it would carry over in May with him being the first NL Pitcher of the Day in May 1st. The 4th round pick (2016) tempered somewhat in the last couple of weeks, but threw 7 scoreless innings and matched his career-high 9 K’s on May 28th. Last night he set a new high with 12 strikeouts over Stockton, but was out-dueled by the Ports Angel Duno. Lucchesi is currently 1st in the Cal League with a 82% LOB rate, 2nd behind A.J. Puk (81) with 76 strikeouts, and 3rd with a 2.41 ERA.
- Moss (with his league leading 8 wins) was the UTR Pitcher of the month in April. Being the NL Top Pitcher of the Day during back-to-back starts (April 23rd, 29th) bolstered that honor. Yesterday was his 6th scoreless outing and second straight over his 12 starts.
- Dodgers #13 ranked prospect
- You would think that 11 K’s might mark a career-high for Vargas. But the young righty already in his 5th season had 17 strikeouts over 8 innings in August 2016.
TOP AL UTR PITCHING PERFORMANCE LHP Keegan Akin (HiA Frederick – Baltimore) 22 years old 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, Win Season Stats: 4-4, 5.16 ERA, 45.1 IP, 48 H, 26 ER, 22 BB, 52 K in 10 starts
- Akin had a nice bounce-back outing yesterday after giving up 7 earned runs and lasting only 3 innings. The 2nd round pick from last year had a nice pro debut with short-season Aberdeen posting a 1.04 ERA in 9 starts. Thus far, that success hasn’t carried over in his first full season.
- Blue Jays #24 ranked prospect and was the Top UTR Pitcher for April
Under The Radar Minors 