Last night Sal Romano left the game early, after giving up a single to lead off the 7th he threw two pitches to the next batter. Both of the pitches were strikes, but after that second pitch the trainer came out and Romano was removed from the game. He was on a roll, having tossed 6.0 shutout innings at that point with six strikeouts and was only at 80 pitches on the night. His hamstring cramped up on him after that final pitch.
It was a bit of a tough break for Romano in the sense that the runner he left at first base came around to score. Going back to June 24th, a span of eight starts, the big right hander has been dominating the Southern League. In 46.0 innings he’s allowed just one home run, posted a 2.35 ERA, walked just seven batters and he’s racked up 45 strikeouts.
In Daytona last night we saw a pitcher return to the mound who was once thought to be a top end prospect. Jonathon Crawford was among the Tigers best prospects when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in the Eugenio Suarez and Alfredo Simon deal in the winter of 2014. Crawford was injured in spring training of 2015 and began a rehab assignment in late June of 2015, starting three games for the AZL Reds before joining the Daytona Tortugas in mid-July. He made just two starts before he was shut down for the season. This year was a similar story as he began his rehab stint with the AZL Reds in late June, though he would make six appearances before joining the Tortugas last night.
The right hander was quite successful in his return to the mound. He tossed 5.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk to go along with three strikeouts. Crawford needed just 52 pitches, 37 of which were strikes, to get through his five innings of work. He’s been a forgotten man within the system, but when he’s been healthy his fastball/slider combination are among the best in the organization.
The Tortugas played a double header yesterday and left hander Ismael Guillon started the second game. For his second consecutive start he struck out 10 batters in 5.0 innings. He’s pitched out of both the bullpen and the rotation this year, but the plan is for him to come out of the bullpen and he will be moving back there for his next appearance. Still, the left hander has been absolutely crushing the opposition in Daytona this year. In his last four appearances he’s struck out 30 batters with one walk in 15.0 innings. He’s allowed just six hits and one run in that span.
For the season the 24-year-old left hander has a 2.53 ERA over 78.1 innings pitched. He has walked 33 batters on the year, which represents the second lowest walk rate of his career since he was an 18-year-old playing in Arizona. Guillon has also struck out 94 batters, which is also his best rate since he was in Arizona in 2010. He missed all of 2015 while dealing with a shoulder issue, and he’s a tad older for a prospect in the Florida State League, but he’s still got very strong stuff to work with.