Two Major One Minor 040913

Here is the second Two Major One Minor segment of 2013. This is my third year of doing this series where I feature two Major League players and one minor league player each week. This week I am featuring Hisashi Iwakuma, Matt Harvey and Chris Rusin. 

RHP Iwakuma is in his second season with the Seattle Mariners after pitching in Japan for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for five seasons. After two starts this season he has one of the more impressive WHIPs in the American League. This season he is 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 10 K, 0.43 WHIP in 14.0 IP over two games. A good WHIP always shows good control and a measure of dominance. For his MLB career he is 10-5, 3.10 ERA, 111 K, 1.19 WHIP in 139.1 IP over 32 games. Pitching his home games in Seattle is another plus. Iwakuma will be 32 on April 12.

RHP Harvey is starting his first full season with the New York Mets in dominating fashion. He is 2-0, 0.64 ERA, 19 K, 0.57 WHIP in 14.0 IP over 2 games. He is second in ERA and WHIP among National League pitchers with two starts and double digit innings behind only Clayton Kershaw. For his MLB career he is 5-5, 2.33 ERA, 89 K, 1.04 WHIP in 73.1 IP over 12 games. He should be the new ace of the Mets staff for several years. Harvey turned 24 on March 27.

LHP Chris Rusin of the Cubs organization had the best WHIP of all pitchers sent down after spring training. This spring he was 3-0, 1.93, 10 K, 0.90 WHIP, 1 SV in 23.1 IP over 6 games. He split 2012 between Double A Tennessee, Triple A Iowa and the Cubs. He was 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 K, 0.00 WHIP in 3.0 IP in 1 game at Tennessee, was 8-9, 4.55 ERA, 94 K, 1.42 WHIP in 140.1 IP over 25 games at Iowa and was 2-3, 6.37 ERA, 21 K, 1.65 WHIP in 29.2 IP over 7 games with the Cubs. This season he is 0-0, 3.60 ERA, 4 K, 1.20 WHIP in 5.0 IP in 1 game at Iowa. Rusin turned 26 on October 22.