Two Major One Minor 080611

This week I'm covering three pitchers that are having good seasons with their ERA. The two Major League players are Ricky Romero and Hiroki Kuroda while the minor league player is Joseph Wieland. Romero and Kuroda are on pace to have career bests in the category.


Romero has been a Jekyll and Hyde type pitcher this season but has still managed to post a 2.98 ERA to go with his 9-9 record. In his third season with the Toronto Blue Jays this RHP has a career 3.71 ERA as he has progressively improved from 4.30 his first season and 3.73 last year. Over his last 10 games Romero is 4-4 with a 2.78 ERA which shows he is still on track to finish strong. He started his pro career after he was drafted by the Blue Jays with the sixth pick in the first round in 2005.


Kuroda is a RHP having a hard luck season as his 2.96 ERA compared to his 7-13 record showcases. The Dodgers have only given him 2.8 runs per game over 22 games and Kuroda had to dominate the Padres his last outing to escape with a 1-0 victory. In his four year career with the Dodgers he has a 3.46 ERA after going 3.73, 3.76 and 3.39 in his previous seasons. Before the Dodgers he pitched for 11 seasons for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and only had three better seasons: 13-6 with a 1.86 ERA in 2006, 12-8 with a 3.03 ERA in 2001 and 15-12 with a 3.17 ERA in 2005. He still appears to be pitching at a high level as he enters the twilight of his career.


Wieland is a RHP on the other end of the spectrum as he fast tracked through the Texas Rangers minor league system before being traded to the Padres last week. I actually mentioned him in my post on the Mike Adams trade but his performance warrants extra time in the spot light. At Class A advanced he was 3-2 with a 2.14 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 0.55 WHIP in 54.2 innings over nine games and he was 5-2 with a 4.32 ERA, 61 strikeouts and 1.20 WHIP in 66.2 innings over 11 games with the Rangers Double A team. In his first game with the Padres Double A team he had 7 strikeouts and no walks over six innings in a no decision to start with a 1.50 ERA and 0.50 WHIP. Between the three teams combined his 1.79 ERA is second in all the minors and his 0.97 WHIP is fifth best. His future may get an additional bump if these skills translate to the majors and he joins the Padres rotation and play in their pitcher's haven.