Dakota Mekkes had one of the most remarkable months we have seen from any pitching prospect in this organization in a long time. In the month of July he pitched 8 times for a total of 14.1 innings, struck out 20, walked 4, allowed just 8 hits and did not give up a run.
He was promoted to High A in June, and with the Pelicans in that month he added 6 more games and 10 more innings of scoreless relief. In total, this right hander pitched 14 games and 24.1 innings without giving up a single run, earned or otherwise. That is a remarkable achievement for any pitcher at any level.
And then calendar rolled around to August 1, and suddenly Mekkes has an ERA. He allowed three runs on four hits last night, and as a result his Myrtle Beach ERA is all the way up to … 1.04. That is still an excellent number.
The real question here is whether or not Mekkes can maintain his success at higher levels, and on that the jury is still out. Check back in about 12 months, though, and I think we’ll have our answers.
Photo by Larry Kave/Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Triple A: Iowa Cubs Albuquerque 7, Iowa 6 in twelve innings.
This was one of those wild, power fueled games that gives the Pacific Coast League a reputation for being a hitters’ paradise.
I was really hoping to see Mekkes pitch when I went to Frederick on the 31st, and I would have been disappointed that I didn’t had I not gotten to see Dave Berg and Jake Stinnett instead. All in all, I can’t argue.
Craig Brooks hasn’t gotten the same amount of press as some other relief prospects have, but he is also having a fantastic season. His month of July was so good, in fact, that he was named the Southern League Relief Pitcher of the Month.
The Northwest League All Stars beat the Pioneer League All Stars 5 to 4 in Hillsboro, Oregon last night. For the Emeralds, Gustavo Polanco played some first base and finished 0 for 2, Jesus Camargo pitched one innings of hitless ball and struck out one, and Luis Aquino allowed just one hit in his inning of work.
The Northwest League side of the box score of that game is one of the strangest looking box scores I have seen. Part of the problem is that a batter went ahead and hit after he had been pinch hit for in the fifth, but the oddities don’t stop there. For example, one player, Manuel Geraldo, started the game at shortstop, left for a pinch hitter in the fifth, then returned to the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh, and then remained in the game to play third base. I suspect this box score is what you get when two teams are playing an exhibition game and one of them has a very short bench.
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NEWSLETTER
