The Cincinnati Reds took a chance in the 6th round of the 2014 draft by selecting right handed pitcher Jose Lopez out of Seton Hall despite the fact that he had undergone Tommy John surgery and wouldn’t be able to pitch during the season.
Lopez would sign and join the Reds organization and when 2015 rolled around he joined the Billings Mustangs whens their season began in the middle of June. His first appearance was a 0.2 inning outing out of the bullpen, but he’s made nine starts since that first game.
Through his first seven games the right hander saw some ups-and-downs, tossing 19.0 innings with a 5.21 ERA, 12 walks and 17 strikeouts. Control was an issue at times as he walked plenty of batters through that stretch of time.
The 21-year-old has been a different pitcher in his last three outings. He’s been rather dominant. On July 26th he allowed two runs in 5.0 innings with seven strikeouts. That was followed up with 4.0 shutout innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Last night was the best start of the bunch as he punched out seven batters with a walk in 5.0 shutout innings. He also picked up his first professional win with the start and lowered his ERA to 3.55 on the season.
Here’s a quick comparison of the two stretches for Lopez:
| Games | IP | H | BB | K | ERA |
| 1st-7th | 19.0 | 20 | 12 | 17 | 5.21 |
| 8th-10th | 14.0 | 12 | 3 | 22 | 1.29 |
Every stat you can think of has been better in this recent stretch of three starts for Jose Lopez. His walk rate has dropped significantly and his strikeout rate has been outstanding as he’s struck out 39% of the batters he has faced in that span. That’s led to an incredibly low ERA and he’s been able to pitch deeper into his starts as well.
It’s just three games of very strong performance for the Billings Mustangs starter, but Jose Lopez has gotten stronger as the season has gone along and he’s gotten further away from Tommy John surgery. The right hander could be a big steal for the organization if he continues with his recent run of success.