Shorebird of the week 5-4-2006
To turn about a phrase I’ve heard on the radio a time or two about a local jobs site – unusual name, amazing results. Last night’s sunny evening gave me an opportunity to get this picture of Delmarva starting pitcher Chorye Spoone. But with his performance so far this season it was only a matter of time before he became a SotW anyway, regardless of the oddity of the name’s spelling.
The Maryland native (Pasadena) was picked in the 8th round in last year’s amateur draft by the Orioles out of Catonsville Junior College. Maybe it’s the home cooking that’s helping him because he struggled last season out of the gate at the Orioles’ short season affiliate in Bluefield, WV. He was racked in several appearances and ended up only 2-5 with an 8.03 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. But he’s turned it around in a return to Maryland with a fine 1.66 ERA in 5 starts along with a 2-1 won/lost record. In last night’s game he also pitched well enough to win (1 run in 5 1/3 innings) but the bullpen let him down, allowing Lakewood to tie the game at 4-4 before the ‘birds eventually won.
The most encouraging sign is despite a high number of walks (15 allowed in 21 2/3 innings, the most of any Shorebird hurler), he’s got a pretty good WHIP (walks + hits divided by innings pitched) of 1.29. It’s been tough for batters to get solid contact off him, he’s allowed more runners via the free pass than by base hits (15 vs. 13).
In 2004 he was drafted in the 36th round by the San Diego Padres. Interestingly enough, his draft listing also included a short scouting report (from mlb.com):
COMMENT: COMPACT BUILD. UPPER BODY STRENGTH. SLIGHTLY SLOPED SHOULDERS. THICK LEGS, HIPS. MUST WATCH WEIGHT. BUILD SIMILAR TO KERRY WOOD. QUICK ARM. FB RUNS DOWN & AWAY FROM RHH. 12 TO 6, TIGHT CB FOR STRIKES AT TIMES. OCCAISIONAL HARD, RUNNING SLIDER. WILL BRING IT TO HITTER. MOVES PITCHES AROUND. HAS IDEA. LOCATES PITCHES. HAS ARM STRENGTH.
It’s pretty funny how much they put in 4 lines. Hopefully he has less problems with injury than the Cubs’ Kerry Wood. But if he gains a little better command of his pitches, he may stick around Maryland for awhile as many times first-time players have been brought up directly from the AA level. If so, he may not pitch for another team outside his native state.
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