Call to the pen
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Boston Red Sox brothers facing off in minors

By Brody Hilgenkamp

Sep 11, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox hat and gloves lay in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox hat and gloves lay in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

The Atlanta Braves and White Sox each have a prospect in the Southern League who is walking an ungodly amount of batters.

The Braves received Sean Newcomb in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels. Armed with a high-90s fastball, Newcomb has all the potential in the world, which is why he was a first round draft pick in 2014. Newcomb is eighth in the SL with a 9.00 strikeouts-per-nine innings, but that would be a lot higher is he didn’t walk 5.29, third most in the league.

Right behind Newcomb in K/9 is the White Sox’s Jordan Guerrero. Entering Wednesday’s start, Guerrero had an 8.63 K/9 but was second in the league in BB/9 (6.19). This should be cause for concern, because entering this season Guerrero was a reliable strike thrower, walking only 2.25 batters per nine innings from 2013-15. Last night, he pitched seven innings and gave up four earned runs and walked two batters with no strikeouts.

Kansas City Royals pitcher Alec Mills is scheduled to start today and he is looking for a rebound. Not that his last start—six innings, three earned runs on nine hits—was bad by any means, but considering Mills has been one of the Texas League’s most consistent pitchers, it wasn’t his best outing.

Mills is third in the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.73), second in fielding independent pitching (1.81) and sixth in earned run average. He also made his major league debut May 18 in the nightcap of a doubleheader.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Austin Slater is getting a second crack at the Eastern League. In 54 games there last season, Slater slashed a respectable .296/.350/.362. This season he’s constantly on the base paths, leading the league with a .321 average and .416 OBP entering Wednesday. The biggest difference is in walks, as he’s improved his walk rate from 6.4 percent to 13.9 percent and cut his K rate from 22.0 to 20.5.

Next: Class A Advanced

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