Replacing a star pitcher like David Price is not easy to do, but Vanderbilt stud sophomore Mike Minor will definitely soften the blow. The Commodores will be without Price as well as lights out closer Casey Weathers after both were taken in the first 8 picks of last year's draft.
A 6'4" lefty, Minor was taken in the 13th round of the '06 draft by Tampa Bay, but decided to attend school at the emerging powerhouse. He quickly became an important cog in Vandy's dominating regular season run last year, going 9-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 90 1/3 IP. Showing he can compete under pressure, Minor shut down SEC rival South Carolina in his first career weekend start, striking out 9 Gamecocks in 7 innings to secure the series victory. He accumulated 88 strikeouts on the year and walked 19, while opponents hit only .226 against him. Baseball America named him a Freshman All American and SEBaseball.com ranked him the top freshman in the Southeastern Conference.
Pitching for Team USA, Minor went 5-2 with a 1.64 ERA last summer, striking out 37 and walking just 4 in 33 innings.
Possibly the best freshman pitcher in the country a year ago, Vandy will turn to Minor on Friday nights this season. With outstanding command of his fastball and an impressive changeup, he should have no problem shouldering the load in the strong SEC.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Mike Minor
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