White Sox A (Adv) pitcher of the month: RP Euclides Leyer
Offense has not been a strong point this season for the Chicago White Sox Single-A (Adv) affiliate Winston-Salem Dash. And statistically the pitching has paid for it.
No team in the Carolina League has less saves and only one has more losses. Only one starting pitcher on the team (Matt Heidenreich) has a winning record.
With that said, the offense couldn’t be blamed for the pitching in June. There were struggles up and down the roster but one player was able to standout enough to be Winston-Salem’s pitcher of the month.
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Euclides Leyer, a reliever and older brother of starter Robin Leyer, went 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 12.1 innings. He put together six consecutive scoreless June appearances before allowing runs in the final two games of the month.
His best outing came on June 19th when he pitched 2.1 innings without allowing a hit, run or walk and striking out four.
For the year, Leyer is 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 19.1 innings (12 appearances)
Honorable mention
Because so many pitchers didn’t perform for Winston-Salem last month, finding an honorable mention was tough. However, it is closer Peter Tago who gets the nod for the recognition.
Originally a compensatory pick in 2010 by the Colorado Rockies, Tago has had a rough professional career.
In four minor league seasons before 2015, Tago has never posted an ERA below 5.47. The White Sox selected Tago in the AAA portion of the Rule-5 draft and so far this season, he has been a different player.
The young right-hander was promoted from Low A Kannapolis in May and has shined in the closers role with the Dash, especially in June.
Tago was 4-4 in save opportunities in June and with the exception of one bad outing, did not allow a run. He posted a 3.38 ERA for the month and struck out 18 batters on 10.2 innings.
Tago’s best game came on June 13th when he pitched two scoreless innings allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Overall this season Tago is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 40 innings of work. He is also 7-9 in save chances.
Single-A pitcher notes
While Heidenreich has been the Dash’s best pitcher this season, June wasn’t too kind to him. The big right-hander was 1-2 with a 4.68 ERA in four starts. Opponents hit .287 against him…. I mentioned the young Robinson Leyer earlier in the article. The younger brother of Euclides is 3-6 with 4.70 ERA this season in 15 starts…. After a dominant April, James Dykstra is winless in his last eight starts.