In the Minors: Virgil Vasquez still awesome
posted in minors, players |From time to time, I like to check with the Arizona Fall League. For instance, I learned Brent Clevlen is on a nice hitting string lately. Well, that’s well and good.
But Virgil Vasquez is fricken awesome. Which is why I was a bit confused over all the hand wringing of the trading of a kid in West Michigan whose name approximately 0% of Tigers fans and probably 5% of Tigers minor league watchers had ever mentioned. That wasn’t the one to fret over.
But back to Vasquez. In Arizona, you may remember, the right-handed starter was rocked for 8 runs in his first start. He hasn’t given up a run since. So that’s 24 consecutive scoreless innings. He’s given up eight hits and five walks during that time, while striking out 17. But it isn’t just in the AFL he’s successful. In Erie this year, he had 129 strikeouts and 50 walks in 173 innings. He also gave up just more than one home run per 9 innings.
So what have we got here? A pitcher with good control, decent indicators, and with a good amount of innings on his arm. He’s 24. He’s definitely not perfect. But if I had to bet on a guy who’s going to get his shot in the majors, I’d peg Vasquez as one of them.
Lakeland Tigers take to the air
In other minors news, the Lakeland Tigers have taken flight. Or changed their name and logo anyway.
The name “Flying Tigers” refers to Tigertown’s roots as a World War II training site for American and British pilots. Between 1940 and 1945, the Lakeland School of Aeronautics graduated more 8,000 aspiring airmen, many of whom went on to complete dangerous missions in the skies of Europe and Asia.
Accordingly, the team’s new logo features the head of a fang-baring Tiger surrounded by a pilot’s wings. The uniforms include a patch featuring a P-40 fighter jet and the words “Tigertown USA,” and the color of the road uniform has been switched from the traditional gray to a military tan.
The article reports the Flying Tigers are really getting into the theme, the manager will wear commander’s wings and there will be changers at Joker Marchant Stadium.
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