Vote for the BCB Minor League Pitcher of the Month for August

OK, we did the hitters yesterday and today is the day for the pitchers. I have one candidate from each of the top five teams and you vote for one of them based what they did in the month of August. You should have this all down by now.

As with the hitters, I’ll leave voting on this one open until Monday. The winner for both polls will be announced in the final Minor League Wrap of the regular season.

Clicking on the names takes you to their milb.com page.

The candidates are:

Iowa Cubs right-hander Jen-Ho Tseng: Certainly a candidate for Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Tseng made the move from Double-A to Triple-A in July and was even better in the hitter-friendly PCL. In the month of August, Tseng made four starts and pitched 22.2 innings. He went 1-1 with a 1.99 ERA. He did have three unearned runs, however, which tarnishes his record somewhat. Tseng kept the ball in play as he struck out just 13 and walked just seven. But his extreme groundball tendencies kept opposing hitters to a .250 batting average.

Tennessee Smokies right-hander Steve Perakslis: Perakslis has become a very valuable “utility pitcher” in the Cubs system, as he both starts when necessary and fills in with long or short relief the rest of the time. He even has one save this season (although it wasn’t in August). He also fills in from team to team. Perakslis moved up to Iowa this summer because of injuries and returned to Iowa at the end of June even though he pitched quite well in Triple-A. Oh, and he’s back with Iowa after the September call-ups meant there were more vacancies that needed to be filled.

For the Smokies in August, Perakslis made three starts and five relief appearances totalling 25.2 innings. He posted a 3-1 record with an ERA of 2.81. Perakslis dominated the strike zone as he struck out 27 batters and walked just three. The only downside is that both home runs he’s allowed this year came in August.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans right-hander Scott Effross: Effross took over the closer duties for the Pelicans in August and was a perfect 5 for 5 in save opportunities. In Effross’ ten relief appearances in August, he pitched 19.1 innings and allowed just four runs, all earned, for a 1.86 ERA. Effross struck out 20, walked five and held opposing hitters to a .225 average.

South Bend Cubs left-hander Wyatt Short: Short was the closer for South Bend and pitched in ten games in August, nine of which South Bend won. He was 6 for 7 in save attempts and the Cubs ended up winning the save he blew. He was 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings, with no unearned runs blemishing the record. Short struck out 13 and walked four. Not every one of his saves was a work of art, but he always found a way to get the final out in the end.

Eugene Emeralds right-hander Jose Albertos: Now this is the Albertos that we’ve all been waiting to see. In five starts in August, the 18-year-old Mexican righty went 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA over 23 innings. Albertos struck out 30, walked seven and held opposing hitters to a .165 average. He did have two unearned runs, but even that’s not a bad number for this level of the minor leagues.