Because he's a 6-foot-9-inch lefty, Noah Schultz can really only draw comparisons to two of the century's best pitchers, because the mold just hasn't produced many others.
Talking to reporters in Arizona this weekend, Brian Bannister didn't shy away from dropping those names.
“The kind of power lefty, power east-west lefty, however you want to describe it, Schultz is definitely in that category. I got the chance to work with Chris Sale. I grew up around Randy Johnson. It’s a category that I think historically in baseball has performed very well. All of those guys have elite upside. A lot of times, it’s harnessing their physical talent and turning it into command. Randy didn’t stop walking guys until he was almost 30, but then he went on that four Cy Young run (1999-2002). It can happen late in a career. It can happen after some early turmoil in their career. But when figure it out, and really understand who they are, the performance upside can be pretty incredible."
Schultz pitched another four innings the following day, so he's up 43 on the year between Witnston-Salem and Birmingham. He's struck out 63 batters against seven walks, which is outstanding. It's maybe a little less otherworldly when you include the six batters he's plunked, but considering he's all of 20 years old, just reached 70 innings for his professional career and is one of numerous pitchers trying Bannister's cutter, you can forgive any overzealousness.
"I just saw him in Knoxville," Bannister said. "He’s aggressive. He just got up to AA and he’s already out there like he belongs. He’s big, he’s physical. He’s intimidating to hitters. I love it how he goes right after guys. He really challenges them.
"There are little nuances and things we can add, but just getting out there with what he already has, he can go out there and beat Double-A hitters. So, we will keep polishing and talking through things. Dealing with potential platoon splits up here. Just because he’s more of that east-west, two-seam/sweeper guy. Just little things. Let him pitch right now, let him be physical. Build up those innings, and he’s got an exciting upside."
ACL Royals 9, ACL White Sox 2
- Eloy Jiménez went 2-for-3.
- Javier Mogollon walked twice and struck out twice.
- Adrian Gil was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Abraham Nunez, 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Stiven Flores went 1-for-3 with an HBP.
- Christian Oppor: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
- Matt Foster is pitching: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
DSL White Sox 2, DSL Giants Orange 1
- Christian Gonzalez went 0-for-2 with a walk, a sac fly and a CS.
- Jehancarlos Mendez singled once and struck out thrice.
- Jurdrick Profar was 0-for-2 with a walk, strikeout and HBP.
- Eduardo Herrera went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Jesus Premoli, 2-for-4 with a double.
- Angel Bello: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
