Tyler Barnette was a 14th round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2013 and has struggled during his time with the organization.
Last season between Kannapolis (A), Winston-Salem (A Adv) and Charlotte (AAA) Barnette went 2-8 with a 5.67 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 93.2 innings. Opponents hit for a .312 average against him in the 30 games (11 starts) he pitched.
This season at Birmingham (AA) he has been extremely better. And despite his career numbers saying he serves better as a reliever than starter, Barnette showed in the month of May that he can get it done taking the ball every fifth day.
In May, Barnette went 2-1 without allowing an earned run in four starts. He also had an impressive 0.84 WHIP and opponents hit just .143 against him. He made three other appearances last month in relief and allowed three runs in one of them.
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Since that outing, Barnette has put up zeros. He has gone now six straight appearances without an earned run.
Barnette’s best outing of the month came in a win against the Mobile BayBears. He went 5.2 shutout innings allowing just two hits, one walk and striking out three.
Though he is not much of a strikeout pitcher, Barnette will do so at times when he mixes in his slider with his fastball like he did so in the video below.
For the year, he is 2-2 with a 1.27 ERA in eight games (four starts) with Birmingham.
He is currently on the disabled list.
Honorable mention
Feb 22, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox relief pitcher
Cody Winiarski(86) poses for a photo during photo day at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Cody Winiarski, a 36th round pick in 2011, is coming off of a rough 2014 season. While exclusively at Birmingham, he posted an ERA of 8.34 and opponents hit .321 against him, numbers far below what he had done the previous seasons. He did however post good strikeout totals punching out 54 batters in 45.1 innings.
This season, he has been much better. And for the last month, he has been the Barons’ best bullpen arm.
In 10 games in May, Winiarski went 1-0 with a 1.72 ERA and three saves in six opportunities. He has also held opponents to .180 average and has 19 strikeouts in his 15.2 innings.
His best outing of the month came on May 28th in a 10-inning win against the Jacksonville Suns. Winiarski pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth inning allowing no hits, one walk and striking out three.
Overall in 14 games at Birmingham this season, Winiarski is 1-0 with a 1.84 ERA, 27 strikeouts in 20 innings and opponents are hitting .217 against him. He is also 4-7 in saves chances.
AA pitcher notes
Tyler Danish has allowed 14 earned runs in his last three starts. He was featured as April’s player of the month…. Frankie Montas is viewed by many as a top five White Sox prospect. This season he is 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA in eight starts…. Blake Smith who was just recently acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched 2.2 innings allowing one hit and striking out five in his debut with Birmingham on March 29th.
Next: Christian Marrero, White Sox AA player of the month