Every year it seems like the Shorebirds have one pitcher who has a dreadful record in terms of wins and losses but pitches rather well overall. Last year that was Matt Taylor, who’s had a fairly good bounceback season (albeit marred by injury) for Frederick this year, and this year’s model will almost certainly lead the South Atlantic League in strikeouts. Mitch Horacek has a decent shot of having the most strikeouts of any Shorebird pitcher since 2006, when onetime Oriole and now injured Diamondback reliever (and SotW Hall of Fame member) David Hernandez fanned 154.
So forget the 5-10 won-lost record and concentrate on some other numbers: the 33 walks Horacek has allowed in 130 1/3 innings keep him at a 1.29 WHIP for the season as he’s allowed just over a hit per inning (135 hits.) Nearly half his 23 starts would be classified as “quality” starts where he went 6 or more innings and allowed 3 or fewer earned runs – in fact, Horacek had a stretch earlier this season of three straight 6-inning starts without allowing an earned run (May 26 – June 5.) In his 10 losses, Horacek has a 6.14 ERA so he’s not often being hammered out of the ballpark – only one time (in loss number 10) has he allowed more runs than innings pitched. (In his first four wins he had a zero ERA in 25 innings, so when he’s on Mitch is almost unhittable.)
Drafted out of a Colorado high school in the 46th round by the Rockies in 2010, Horacek chose instead to pitch at Dartmouth – yes, he’s an Ivy Leaguer. It was a smart decision in the fact he advanced to a ninth round pick last year and pitched quite well for Aberdeen, going 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA and a 45/7 K/BB ratio in 64 2/3 innings, with a WHIP of less than 1. So far in his career it’s become obvious he has a good strikeout pitch; on the other hand, he does give up quite a few hits. In the near term, it likely means he’s got the inside track on a rotation spot for Frederick next year, but the eventual fate of the 22-year-old may be in the bullpen as a swing man – a role that T.J. McFarland fills for the Orioles right now.
In the meantime, it appears Horacek will enjoy a distinction no Shorebird has achieved in 15 years – leading the league in strikeouts. Not since John Stephens fanned 217 (!) in 1999 has a Shorebird been atop that leaderboard. And while I’m sure any member of the team would trade individual honors for a team title, it’s a nice little distinction to have. Moreover, out of the six Shorebird pitchers who have collected over 150 strikeouts in a season, five have gone on to the majors (the other is still pitching in the Mexican League.) With one more start and perhaps a relief appearance left in his season, the possibility of Mitch eclipsing 150 strikeouts and joining that club is pretty good.