With saves in his last five appearances, lefthander Chad Thall has become Delmarva skipper Gary Kendall’s closer of choice and thus becomes my selection as Shorebird of the Week. Thall overcame a rough start to the season (0-1 with a 7.90 ERA in April) and has whittled his overall numbers to a 1-1 record and 4.13 ERA – since May 15 his ERA is a sparkling 1.88.
Paramount for a closer, Thall can get the strikeout when he needs it (27 K’s in 32 2/3 innings of work this season) and doesn’t walk many (just 9 so far in 2007.) Overall his WHIP is a solid 1.16.
Thall was a “draft-and-follow” 27th round pick by Baltimore in the 2005 draft, not beginning his pro career until last season in Aberdeen. The Centralia, Missouri resident out of Jefferson College put up solid numbers for the IronBirds as well, finishing his inaugural pro season 6-2 with a 1.83 ERA. While Chad may not have been on the map for a lot of teams because he played for a small school, nonetheless he’s proven to be a useful pitcher for the Shorebirds and collected 4 saves in the recent 8-1 homestand the Shorebirds enjoyed.
