by Jim Brown
*MLBDepthCharts.com considers any player not on a team's 40-man roster, in AAA, or ranked as a top 10 prospect by Baseball America or top 11 prospect by Baseball Prospectus before the 2010 season as an 'under the radar' player.
Under the Radar Minor League NL Pitching Performance of the Week
LHP Tony Cingrani, Rookie Level Billings (CIN)
season stats: 1.56 ERA, 40.1 IP, 25 H, 5 BB, 66 K in 11 starts
August 24-August 30: 6 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 13 K in 1 start
Sadly, the minor league season is coming to an end. With a partial schedule slated for the coming week, this is my last UTR selection of the 2011 season. As summer winds down, I will also be making a transition by trading in the keyboard for headsets as I take to the airwaves covering high school football in the county. But before I begin occupying area press boxes, I need to feel the excitement, one more time, in seeing who will be the last UTR of the season. It’s a euphoria that is only matched by finding that first top performance way back in April. Reflecting for a moment, 2011 was a season filled with many solid performances by pitchers that never made this feature. In fact, to cap-off the UTR season, I will provide a list of pitchers next week that were “oh-so-close”. One of those pitchers missed out again this week, so you will have to tune in next Wednesday to see if it might be one of your favorites.
The last full week had some pitchers saving their best for last. One pitcher in particular heard that phrase many times during his stint in the bullpen at Rice this past spring. Cingrani captures the 'UTR' crown for the second time in three weeks and the only repeat selection this season. His best didn’t need to come at the end of the season, as Cingrani has been outstanding since joining the Reds as a 3rd round pick in this year’s draft. If you have followed any one of my picks this year, you may have noticed that most pitchers have suffered a horrible outing their next time out after being named UTR for the week. A UTR jinx perhaps? Not with Cingrani, who hasn't given up more than 1 earned run over his last 7 starts. The 22-year-old lefty has pitched 23 innings in August, allowing just 3 earned runs while striking out 44 strikeouts and walking three batters. His best came on August 27th when he fanned 13 batters over six hitless innings, facing one over the minimum (an error) in getting his first pro win.
Cingrani didn’t have much success as a starter in junior college and later at Rice, but things changed when he was thrust into the closer’s role with the Owls where he tied the school record of 12 saves in 2010. He spent time building up his mechanics by strengthening his lower body and getting his legs in-sync with his arms. The 6'4" lefty has a lanky arm action that supports his mid-90’s fastball in deceiving hitters with how quickly the ball reaches the zone. He needs improvement, however, on his secondary pitches, a 1-to-7 slider and an average change-up. Now that the excitement is over, its time to feel the lows of disappointment in not seeing Cingrani’s name on an Arizona Fall League roster.
Relief Pitcher of the Week
RHP Logan Bawcom, Hi-A Rancho Cucamonga (LAD): 3.25 ERA, 63.2 IP, 49 H, 27 BB, 79 K, 29 Sv in 49 appearances (HiA/LoA); 3 IP, 0 ER, H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 Sv in 3 appearances over the past week
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UTR Minor League NL Hitting Performance of the Week
Under the Radar 2011 Archive
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