Zimmermann may have the most mentions here this season. Of his 8 starts, the 5th round pick from 2017 (Mount Olive College, NC) has been listed 5 times, with two top honors to end April. This of course, would earn Zimmermann the Top UTR “Minors” National League Pitcher for April. The 6’2″ 215 lb lefty got shellacked during his second outing to start his taste of full season ball with Rome. He gave up 9 earn runs over 4 innings during that start, but since that time, has only allowed 5 ER over 36.1 innings. Coming out of Mount Olive as a senior, the southpaw came equipped with a low 90’s fastball, and average secondaries. The improvement of those secondary offerings will determine his ceiling, but so far so good.
TOP AL UTR PITCHING PERFORMANCE LHP JP Sears (LoA Charleston – New York Yankees) 22 year old 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1.52 ERASears is another of those pitchers that would have ranked as a UTR Organizational All-Star, had they not been traded. The 5’11” 180 lb lefty saw two levels in 2017 within the Seattle farm system. He would have ranked as the #3 UTR-OAS as a reliever for the Mariners, had they not sent him to the Yankees for Nick Rumbelow. The Riverdogs have the southpaw within their rotation, the first time as a starter for the 11th round selection in 2017. Sears made 17 appearances during his debut season by posting a 0.65 ERA with 51 strikeouts over 27.2 innings. In his five starts in 2018, Sears currently has a 1.40 ERA and is averaging a strikeout per inning (25).
LoA Mentions – Starters LHP Will Stewart (LoA Lakewood – Philadelphia) 20 years old 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1.26 ERA RHP Brady Puckett (LoA Greensboro – Miami) 22 years old 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1.99 ERA
Top “Minors” National League Pitcher for April 2018
RHP Turner Larkins (LoA Lansing – Toronto) 22 years old 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 3.38 ERA, Win 3-3 LHP Domingo Robles (LoA West Virginia – Pittsburgh) 20 years old 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 3.15 ERA, Win 3-3 LHP Parker Mushinski (LoA Quad Cities – Houston) 22 years old 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.47 ERA RHP Bailey Ober (LoA Cedar Rapids – Minnesota) 22 years old 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 8.04 ERAHiA Mentions – Starters RHP Nick Nelson (HiA Tampa – New York) 232years old 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 3.46 ERA, Win 1-1 RHP Randy Bell (HiA Modesto – Seattle) 23 years old 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 4.06 ERA, Win 2-2 RHP Melvin Adon (HiA San Jose – San Francisco) 23 years old 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 4.89 ERA
2017 UTR Organizational All-Star
LHP Alex Wells (HiA Frederick – Baltimore) 21 years old 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 4.10 ERA, Win 1-3National League – Relief RHP Julian Garcia (LoA Lakewood – Philadelphia) 23 years old 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 4.80 ERA, Win 1-1 American League – Relief RHP Jake Elliott (LoA Kannapolis – Chicago White Sox) 23 years old 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1.54 ERA
Under The Radar Minors 