Many fans of the Rainiers and Mariners are looking forward to seeing Double-A Jackson stars Danny Hultzen and Nick Franklin promoted to Tacoma – an event that seems imminent.
But Hultzen and Franklin aren’t the only prospects at Jackson who are hoping for a promotion. Jackson has a whole bullpen full of pitchers whose numbers scream for a call-up.
Hard-throwing right-hander Carter Capps is trying to follow Stephen Pryor’s path to the big leagues. Capps has pitched in 21 games for Jackson, going 2-2 with seven saves and a 1.48 ERA. In 30 innings, Capps has an amazing 46-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Capps has not allowed an earned run since April 29 – a span of 12 appearances and 172/3 innings.
Jackson also has a pair of left-handed relievers with microscopic earned run averages.
Bobby LaFromboise, 25, has a 1.03 ERA in 19 games and 26 innings pitched, with 32 strikeouts and five walks. With his 26th birthday two weeks from now, he’s probably ready to face older competition.
Brian Moran allowed a run on May 9, and a two-run homer to former bigleaguer Ryan Garko on May 25. Besides that, he has pitched shutout relief in 20 appearances, producing a 0.99 ERA in 27 innings.
Moran, 23, was teammates with Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager at the University of North Carolina. All three were drafted by the Mariners in 2009.
SEDDON SHINES
Former Rainiers and Mariners left-hander Chris Seddon is pitching for the Columbus Clippers of the International League – the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.
Seddon pitched six shutout innings in the opening game of a doubleheader on June 2, and he backed that up with 72/3 innings of one-run ball on Friday against Buffalo. Seddon is 7-3 with a 3.59 ERA after 12 starts.
Seddon pitched for Tacoma from 2009-11, spending the second half of the 2010 season in the Seattle bullpen.
BOMBS FROM AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER?
The Charleston River Dogs are hosting the South Atlantic League All-Star Game this month, and they came up with a novel location for the home run contest – on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
The USS Yorktown, a retired ship from World War II, is docked at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum at Charleston Harbor.
The RiverDogs have hired kayakers and personnel on personal watercraft to retrieve the balls. The U.S. Coast Guard will assess and note the longest homers to determine the finalists and will radio the results to officials stationed on the Yorktown.
“We’re going to let (participants) crush balls into the harbor,” Charleston general manager Dave Echols told Baseball America.
Mike Curto is the radio broadcaster for the Tacoma Rainiers
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