Around the Farm takes a quick look at some of yesterday’s performances by Cleveland prospects throughout the system. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.
Ryan Merritt (SP, Carolina): W (6-1), 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 1 SO
With the high number of strikeouts in today’s game, seeing a pitcher go seven innings with only one strikeout is a rare occurrence; even rarer is such a good outing when the pitcher walks more batters than he strikeouts. Merritt has a reputation as a lower-strikeout pitcher, and with 41 in 56.1 innings, the left-hander is living up to that so far in 2014. The left-hander makes it work with a rock-bottom walk rate (1.76 BB/9), and though he is pitching a little above his 1.60 ERA, Merritt is still impressing in his first full season in High-A. The 22-year-old does not wow on the mound, but his aggressive, pound-the-zone style of pitching is working and saving the bullpen every time out (Merritt is averaging 6.3 innings per start in 2014). Read More…
From Indians Baseball Insider, May 23, 2014