White Sox Class A (Adv) Pitcher of the Month: SP James Dykstra
James Dykstra may be known more being the brother of Tampa Bay Rays rookie Allan Dykstra than as a pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization.
His performance here in the month of April however has certainly got my attention.
The 24-year old right-hander pitched a no-hitter in his second start of the season with Winston-Salem (A Adv). Though it was just a seven-inning game because it was the first of a double-header, Dykstra still gets credit for his dominance on that day.
He faced the minimum 21 batters and only allowed three balls to leave the infield. In his first 13 innings this season, Dykstra allowed just one hit and no runs.
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For the season, he is second in the Carolina League in ERA (0.78) and is one of just two pitchers with a shutout. In addition to that, he is 3-0 with 23 innings pitched, a microscopic 0.52 WHIP and opponents are hitting just .147 against him in his four starts.
A sixth round pick in 2013, Dykstra is entering just his second full minor league season. Between Kannapolis (Low A) and Winston-Salem last year, Dykstra went 9-11 with 3.43 ERA in 152.1 innings.
He is not a guy that will blow you away with overwhelming stuff. When he is at his best, he is inducing ground balls. It will be interesting to see if his success leads him up the ranks and into a promotion this season.
Honorable Mention
Matt Heidenreich has been in the Chicago White Sox organization for seven years and has never been able to stick in any one role. He has gone from starter to reliever to starter to back to reliever multiple times.
Last season was no different for Heidenreich as he finished the year 4-4 with a 6.41 ERA in 87 innings. He made 11 starts in the 28 games he pitched.
This season the 24 year old right-hander is once again a starter. The results however have been pretty good.
So far, he is 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA in his three starts.
His last outing, he went 5.2 innings without allowing a run, striking out six and picking up a win. He has yet to make an appearance this season in which he has allowed more than one run.
Heidenrich is another candidate to find his way to a promotion at some point this season to Birmingham. He has spent some time there in each of the last three seasons but has struggled.
In 48 games (22 starts) with Birmingham he has a 6.83 ERA and opponents have tagged him hitting for a .333 average.
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