Princes of Pitching

Might the future of the mighty Sasquatch lie with pitching? Young talents on Seattle's Single-A affiliate, the Bel Air Princes, have tossed a trio of gems this season. Granted, Single-A is a pitchers league (teams average 3.2 runs scored per game), but Bel Air's hurlers have especially impressed.

Bob Goudie

On April 7, the young Aussie, Bob Goudie, struck out 14 Stingrays. Born in Ballarat (a city in the Australian province of Victoria that is known to literature lovers from a Sherlock Holmes story, The Boscombe Valley Mystery), the 6'7" teenager signed with Seattle this past offseason. The 14 strikeouts came in his first professional game. They also came in only 7 1/3 innings of work. Goudie allowed only two hits, walked no one, and surrendered but a single run. Bel Air won the game, 13-2.

Joe McLernon

Two days later against Whitewater, Joe McLernon pitched a no-hitter. Drafted out of the University of Arizona in the ninth round, McLernon is a 22-year-old southpaw with a plus curveball. The no-hitter was only his second start as a professional. He allowed three walks while striking out five. He did not get a shutout, as Whitewater scored a run in the first. The leadoff batter reached on a walk, then advanced around the bases via a hit-batsman, a sac fly, and a throwing error by McLernon.

"I'm not proud of that first inning," said the Auburn, Alabama native after the game, "Ugly stuff. Hit a guy. Threw a ball into the stands. If you'd told me after that that I'd pitch the best darn game of my life, I'd have said you'd been hittin' the sauce too hard."

Tetsuya
Yamashita

But the Freshest of the Princes pitchers has been Tetsuya Yamashita. The first-round draft pick has yet to allow a run in three games. His best start was his first. On April 1, he pitched 8 1/3 innings and struck out six. He faced the minimum: the only hit he allowed was erased on a 6-4-3 double-play. On April 6, he struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings. On April 12, he struck out six on two walks in 6 2/3 innings. All told, he's pitched 22 1/3 innings without allowing a run.

All this pitching has led Bel Air to a league-best, 12-1 record—including 11 straight victories to start the season.