Shorebird of the Week – August 28, 2008

Coming on in the second half of the season, lefthander Nate Nery has steadily improved and become a reliable starter in a powerful rotation.
Nate Nery was sporting the patriotic uniform when I took this picture June 14.

He didn’t have a great debut in June, but Nate Nery has steadily picked up his game since joining the Shorebirds and will be my final Shorebird of the Week selection for 2008.

An 18th round draft pick 2 years ago by the Orioles, Nery has slowly worked his way up the chain. He had two lackluster short seasons in Aberdeen but the Baltimore brass decided to assign him to Delmarva for the second half of 2008 and see how he responded to the challenge. So far he’s done relatively well, pitching to a 6-3 record, 3.74 ERA, and WHIP of 1.19. The 54 to 21 K/BB ratio in 74 2/3 innings is also quite good, so I’d consider the test passed.

What will be interesting to see for 2009 is where the Orioles organization will start Nate. Having just turned 23 this week, the Atlanta native and resident of Moon Township, PA (near Pittsburgh) who pitched for Stetson College may finally get a shot at pitching a full season. Still, going over the 70 inning mark represents a personal high for Nate and, far from tiring at the tail end of the season, he has pitched quite well in August – Nery sports a 1.48 ERA and a sick 0.99 WHIP for the month.

He should get one more start this season as the rotation will bring him back for Monday’s season finale. After pitching back-to-back scoreless seven-inning outings in his last two starts (including last night’s 3-0 win at Lakewood in Delmarva’s final road contest of the season), we can all see if Nate will finish the season with a solid 20+ inning scoreless streak.

Next week I’ll reveal my Shorebird of the Year. There’s several great candidates out there, but to me one person definitely deserves the honor. You’ll see who next Thursday.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.