Two Major One Minor 051711

Missed a week but back on track. The two major leaguers this week are Josh Collmenter and David Hernandez while the minor leaguer is Charles Furbush. Here we go:


Josh Collmenter got his first start of the season for Arizona and impressed with allowing only two hits over six innings in a 1-0 win over the Dodgers. He may have cemented himself as the fifth man in the rotation giving them a good right-handed option. In the minors he showed the ability to strikeout batters reaching 123 over 145 innings in 2008, 152 over 145 innings in 2009 and 133 over 152 innings in 2010. He appears to have the ability to continue as a workhorse and eat up innings. I think he might go from workhorse to darkhorse before the season is over.


David Hernandez is also in the Diamondbacks bullpen and is currently a setup man with a good chance at being their closer of the future. With his history it is only a matter of time before current closer JJ Putz goes down with an injury. Hernandez showed promise as a righthanded flamethrower in the Orioles organization by putting up 168 strikeouts over 145 innings in 2007 and 166 strikeouts over 141 innings in 2008. Baltimore gave him a shot as a starter in 2009 but he had trouble keeping the ball over the plate and when he did it was prone to be hit over the fence. In 2010 he moved to the bullpen and remained there when he was traded to Arizona in 2011. His strikeout ability is obvious and he is doing better this season as he settles in as a reliever.  So far this season he has 19 strikeouts over 18 innings with a 1.93 ERA while holding opposing batters to batters to a .214 average. The 10 walks are still troubling but his improvement is promising and his cannon can produce at the end of the bullpen.


Charlie Furbush may be a hidden gem with a bright future for the Tigers. His numbers are comparable to more highly touted fellow lefty prospect Andrew Oliver. Both players are at AAA Toledo currently where Oliver is 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 17 walks over 43.2 innings and Furbush is 3-3 with a 2.90 ERA, 47 strikeouts, and 12 walks over 40.1 innings. Furbush is coming off a season where he amassed 183 strikeouts over 159 innings. He also showed promise in spring training with the Tigers when he fanned 13 over 11.2 innings in 5 relief appearances. It won't be long before he is striking out major league bats on a regular basis.