Drew Pomeranz Set for Sunday Debut
By Editorial Staff
Drew Pomeranz is set to make his Major League debut this Sunday for the Colorado Rockies. Pomeranz was acquired just over a month ago from the Indians in the trade that sent starter Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland.
Pomeranz was taken by the Indians as the 5th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. The left-hander entered the 2011 season as Cleveland’s second best pitching prospect behind Alex White, who also was a part of the Jimenez deal.
Even though he hadn’t thrown a pitch professionally, Baseball America ranked Pomeranz as the 61st best prospect in baseball coming into this year. Pomeranz has certainly lived up to the early hype.
Beginning the season with the Indians Single-A affiliate, Pomeranz went 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA and 1.143 WHIP over his first 15 starts. Pomeranz struck out 95 batters in his 77 innings of work, good for a SO/9 ratio north of 11, while walking 3.7 batters per 9.
Pomeranz’s impressive performance earned him a promotion to Double-A, where he made 3 starts as a member of the Indians. Then came the news that the 22 year old was being traded to the Rockies.
Because players are required to spend one full year playing professional baseball before they can be traded, Pomeranz had to be considered a player to be named later in the Jimenez deal. This delayed his ability to begin pitching for the Rockies by nearly two weeks.
Pomeranz was finally able to start for Colorado’s Double-A affiliate. But, days after his appearance, Pomeranz required an emergency appendectomy. It wasn’t known if he would be able to return for the Rockies for the rest of the season.
Fortunately for Pomeranz and the Rockies, the procedure was successful. Pomeranz was able to resume throwing and logged 3 perfect innings earlier in the week.
Now Pomeranz is set to make his debut against the Cincinnati Reds. Already having seen White pitch this season, the Rockies are getting a quick look at the return they received for one of the best starting pitchers in club history.
For more on the Rockies, be sure to check out Rox Pile.