It was just about this time two years ago that Luis Noel was my Shorebird of the Week – July 3, 2008 to be exact. And with the numbers he put up during that 2008 campaign for the Shorebirds (10-8, 3.96 in 27 appearances and starts for Delmarva) it was surprising that he didn’t move up to Frederick to begin 2009 – instead he ended up toiling back home in the Dominican Summer League.
Perhaps the issue was control – Noel allowed 73 walks in 138 2/3 Delmarva innings, or maybe he was worked a little excessively for a then-20 year old pitcher. Regardless of the reason, Noel put together a good enough season for the DSL Orioles to make his return to the Shorebirds in May, at a time where they needed stability in the pitching staff. Out of the five original members of the starting rotation, only one (Jesse Beal) has answered the bell each time his turn came up – others have been promoted, released, or missed time for various reasons.
In the second go-round for Delmarva, Luis has shown improvement over his previous tenure by cutting down on the walks while maintaining a pretty good strikeout pace (40 K’s/16 BB’s in 41 2/3 innings.) Going 4-2 over that 8-start span has already placed him among team leaders in victories, and a sparkling 8 inning performance (5 hits, 1 run on a solo home run, and 10 strikeouts without a walk) against Hickory on Tuesday was enough to give him the nod over other contenders for this week’s honor.
Since Luis was signed at the tender age of 18, the 22 year old is already in his fifth minor league season. Obviously the native of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic would like to advance farther up the system as Delmarva marks his high-water status to date, and if he can keep the walks down he has a chance to do just that.
