by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
Last week, we took a look at some of the A’s hottest minor league hitters of late. This week, it’s time to take a look at some of the A’s minor league pitching leaders at this point of the season. And it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see names like Brady Feigl, Brian Howard and Parker Dunshee making appearances on the list.
And if you haven’t already, be sure to check out our most recent A’s Farm podcast with A’s Assistant General Manager Dan Feinstein. We talked about the A’s recent international signings, including highly-touted prospect Robert Puason and many more. We also discussed the A’s expanded efforts in Latin America and a number of the promising prospects currently playing in the A’s system as a result of those efforts. You can hear it right here – A’s Cast.
–A’s Minor League Pitching Leaders–
(Minimum 65 Innings Pitched – All Statistics Complete Through Games of Sunday, July 14)
–ERA–
RHP Brian Howard (Midland) – 2.73 ERA
Howard has quietly put together a very successful season for the RockHounds. Not only is his 2.73 ERA the best among all A’s minor leaguers who’ve thrown at least 65 innings, but it’s also the second-best mark in the entire Texas League. The 24-year-old also leads the A’s system and the Texas League with 108.2 innings pitched and is tied for the system lead and the league lead with 7 wins. One of the keys to success for the 6-foot-9 righty has been limiting the long ball. Howard has given up just 6 home runs in his 19 starts this season. And he’s allowed 1 earned run or less in each of his last 4 starts for Midland.
RHP Brady Feigl (Stockton) – 3.24 ERA
Feigl has been remarkably consistent for Stockton this season. Last year’s 5th-round draft pick for the A’s has allowed more than 3 earned runs in just 2 of his 18 appearances this season. And besides boasting the second-best ERA among A’s minor league starters, the 23-year-old is also sporting the sixth-best ERA in the California League. Feigl has successfully managed to limit the long ball this season, allowing just 7 home runs over 97.1 innings of work in the hitter-friendly California League.
–WHIP–
RHP Brady Feigl (Stockton) – 1.24 WHIP
Feigl has done a great job of keeping runners off base this season for the Ports, primarily by limiting the free passes. The 6-foot-4 righty has allowed 97 hits in 97.1 innings of work, which is fairly standard, but he’s shown good control by issuing just 24 walks so far this season for Stockton.
RHP Parker Dunshee (Las Vegas/Midland) – 1.26 WHIP
Dunshee put up an ERA of 1.89 and a WHIP of 0.97 in 6 starts for Double-A Midland before compiling a 6.27 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 11 starts at Triple-A. The biggest difference for Dunshee at Las Vegas has been the long ball. After allowing just 1 home run over 38 innings at Double-A, Dunshee has given up a whopping 14 home runs in 51.2 innings in the homer-happy Pacific Coast League. Despite the home runs, Dunshee has still done a decent job of keeping runners off base, allowing just 79 hits over 89.2 innings overall this season.
–K/9–
RHP Aiden McIntyre (Beloit) – 13.1 K/9
McIntyre has been one of the biggest pitching surprises in the A’s system so far this season. Last year’s 22nd-round draft pick for the A’s is second in the system with 95 strikeouts, which is also good for third in the 16-team Midwest League. What’s more remarkable though is that he’s notched those 95 strikeouts in just 65.1 innings of work for Beloit. He’s also allowed just 4 home runs so far this season. On the down side, the 23-year-old has issued a total of 47 walks for the Snappers. McIntyre was on an incredible roll to start the season, allowing just 1 earned run or less in 11 of his first 13 appearances, before going into a skid recently by giving up a total of 22 earned runs over his last 4 appearances for the Snappers.
LHP Tyler Alexander – 10.1 K/9
Alexander has been an interesting case this season. While showing good stuff by notching 92 strikeouts, the most for Las Vegas and the fourth-most in the A’s minor league system, he’s also put up an ERA of 6.39 over 18 starts for the Aviators. His big undoing has been the long ball, giving up a total of 23 home runs in 81.2 innings of work for Las Vegas. Alexander has only allowed 3 of those home runs against left-handed hitters though. His strikeout rate has been better against lefties as well, and one has to wonder if the southpaw might be better-suited to a bullpen role.
–K/BB–
RHP Brady Feigl (Stockton) – 3.5/1 K/BB
Feigl has always shown good control since joining the A’s system and, before that, in his collegiate career as well. But his ability to limit free passes has gotten even better this season at Stockton. Last year’s 5th-round draft pick for the A’s has issued just 24 walks over 97.1 frames while pitching in a league where many hurlers feel compelled to try to pitch around hitters to limit the long ball. But pitching in the hitter-friendly California League clearly hasn’t deterred the 23-year-old from throwing in the zone. And Feigl has notched 84 strikeouts while allowing just 7 home runs so far this season for Stockton.
RHP Mitchell Jordan (Stockton) – 3.2/1 K/BB
Jordan carried a no-hitter through 6 innings in his last start for Stockton on Sunday, and his 100 strikeouts are currently the most among all A’s minor leaguers. The A’s 10th-round draft pick in 2016 has also done a good job of limiting free passes, issuing just 31 walks in 102.1 innings of work. His biggest liability has been the long ball, allowing a total of 22 home runs, which helps account for his 4.57 ERA despite his solid control. In 12 of his 19 starts, Jordan has allowed 3 or fewer earned runs, but he gave up a total of 20 earned runs, and 12 home runs, over 3 disastrous outings, all home games at Stockton.
–Other Notable Names–
A few other A’s minor league hurlers who didn’t quite reach our minimum innings limit are also worthy of a mention here. A trio of relievers are particularly noteworthy. 22-year-old Venezuelan RHP Jesus Zambrano has put up a 1.68 ERA in 53.2 innings of work while splitting time between Midland and Stockton this season. 24-year-old RHP Seth Martinez has compiled a WHIP of just 0.88 over 51 innings in 26 appearances for Stockton and 4 appearances so far for Midland. And 22-year-old Dominican RHP Wandisson Charles has struck out 66 in 43.1 frames, a rate of 13.7 K/9, while splitting time between Stockton and Beloit this season. RHP Daulton Jefferies is also worthy of a special mention here. The 23-year-old came up just short of our minimum innings limit as the A’s are strictly limiting his innings this season while he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery. Jefferies has yet to throw more than 3.2 innings in any of his outings this season, but he’s put up a 1.05 WHIP while compiling strikeouts at a rate of 10.6 K/9. He’s notched a total of 72 strikeouts while issuing just 5 walks over 61 innings of work for a 14.4/1 K/BB ratio. And it’s good to see that, despite returning from Tommy John surgery, Jefferies clearly hasn’t lost one bit of the control that he was known for throughout his college career at Cal.
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