Last Friday I took a brief look at how some of the system’s top position prospects were performing. After the debacle on Saturday, it only seems appropriate to try and find some pitching hope. This list is in no ways comprehensive, and I’ll try to focus more on “prospects” so don’t expect to read about Pat Ahearne. So, in no particular order:

Franklyn German: German is off to a strong start at Toledo. On the season he’s made 12 apperance and pitched 13 1/3 innings. He has 15 strikeouts against 5 walks. That’s a few more walks than I’d like to see given his past control issues. The good news is he’s only allowed one run.

Rob Henkel: Henkel has only managed three starts this year due to shoulder soreness. He may need to go on the disabled list again. When not injured, he hasn’t been dominating. He’s had 10K’s, 8BB’s and 14 hits in 15 1/3 innings.

Kenny Baugh: Baugh is off to a strong start. Despite being 1-3 he has a 3.86 ERA. Most impressive is his 27/6 strike out to walk ratio in 28 innings. Last year Baugh was trying to regain arm strengh. Hopefully he is back to pre-surgery form. These numbers are very encouraging and it’s a possibility he will spend some time with the Tigers this year.

Wil Ledezma and Matt Roney: I’m not sure if they are prospects or not anymore because they’ve already spent a full season in the majors. However, both are pitching well for Erie. Both have 3 wins and an ERAs in the low 3’s. Ledezma has 29 strikeouts, but also 12 walks in 31 innings of work. Roney is 22/6 in 26 innings.

Felix Sanchez: Acquired for Jon Connolly, Sanchez was rocked in his first outing. With only 3 relief apperances, there isn’t much to say at this point.

Kyle Sleeth: After a rough debut, Sleeth has been pitching the way everybody thought/hoped he would. For the season he has 34 K’s and 8 walks in 38 innings. His ERA is 2.84. He gave up 4 earned runs in his first start, and only 8 over the next 5 starts. If he can stay healthy, he will move up quickly.

Joel Zumaya: Zumaya has had some struggles. He’s still striking guys out (27 in 32 innings). However control has been a problem and he’s walked 19.

Humberto Sanchez Sanchez’s numbers are almost identical to Sleeth’s, but they’re better. Thirty-four K’s and eight walks are identical to Sleeth. Sanchez has allowed two more hits than Sleeth. However, he’s allowed 3 fewer homers. Oh, and he doesn’t turn 21 until the end of the month.