| Unheralded To Phenom |
Thu, 02 August 2012 23:36  |
 Rob_Veno
Messages: 4146
Registered: July 2005 |
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Oakland A's call up minor league star pitcher Dan Straily
By Joe Stiglich
August 3, 2012 5:45 AM GMTUpdated: 08/02/2012 10:45:37 PM PDT
Dan Straily has enjoyed quite the storybook career, and he has yet to even throw a major league pitch.
That will change Friday night, when the A's will recall the much-hyped right-hander from Triple-A Sacramento and start him against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Straily, 23, was hardly a top-ranked prospect entering the season and didn't even earn an invitation to big league spring camp. But he's grabbed attention by racking up 175 strikeouts -- which leads all of professional baseball -- in 1381/3 innings split between Double-A Midland and Sacramento.
Not bad for a guy who began his collegiate career at NCAA Division II Western Oregon University before transferring to Marshall and walking on to their baseball team.
The A's drafted him in the 24th round in 2009, and while rookies such as Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone and Ryan Cook have made headlines on Oakland's big league staff this season, Straily flew under the radar until his statistics became impossible to ignore.
"You're always happy for a kid like this when they make it," said A's special assistant Grady Fuson, who has watched Straily extensively "He was a low draft pick. He went to a couple different colleges. He's a dark horse to a lot of people, and now he's the talk of the minor leagues.—
Straily joined the A's for Thursday's series opener against Toronto, though they won't add him to the 25-man roster until Friday. Straily will start in place of Travis Blackley, who gave up five runs in five innings Sunday at Baltimore but otherwise had been solid in the rotation. Blackley will return to the bullpen.
"We're all excited to watch (Straily) pitch," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "What the organization has done very well this year is target guys and get them here while they're hot.—
Straily went 5-2 with a 1.36 ERA in eight starts after his promotion to Triple-A. He drew motivation from a conversation with his former roommate and current A's starter A.J. Griffin.
They were making the 14-hour drive from Phoenix to Midland after spring training, and Straily brought up the fact that Griffin tied for the A's minor league lead last season with 156 strikeouts.
"We were just talking about the upcoming year, and I said, 'A.J., you're probably going to beat me in everything else -- the wins, the WHIP, but I'm going to get you in strikeouts this year," Straily said.
His 175 strikeouts lead all of baseball, with the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg second at 154.
Straily ranked in the top three in strikeouts among A's farmhands over the past two seasons. But he said he's learned to trust his fastball more this season -- it tops out at about 94 mph. Scouts rave about his changeup and slider. He also throws a curveball.
"He's legit," said a scout who has watched Straily throughout his professional career. "This guy can flat-out pitch. He not only has good stuff, but he has command of four pitches. This guy has a chance to do some good things.—
Straily had to serve as team manager just to make his freshman squad while attending high school in Oregon. While attending Western Oregon, he played in a Berkeley-based summer league and remembers taking BART to catch an A's-Angels game.
A teammate from that summer team played at Marshall, located in West Virginia. Straily wanted a change of scenery, so he transferred.
Most of Straily's career has been played out of the limelight, but that will change Friday.
"I never really got into the whole prospect thing because I never was one," he said. "That's fine with me. I found out you don't have to be a prospect to make it all the way up.—
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| Re: Unheralded To Phenom |
Sat, 04 August 2012 12:08  |
Rob_Veno
Messages: 4146
Registered: July 2005 |
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He threw very well but I didn't expect that much of a move and certainly wouldn't have played him at the closing price. All that said, A's win and cash which is all that counts but I wonder if this is now what to anticipate when Strailey takes the hill again. After a 50 cent climb from their opening number yesterday, how much will oddsmakers adjust if at all Wednesday night @ home vs. Greinke & the Angels. The latter likely carries enough weight to keep the number unshaded by the books.
[Updated on: Sat, 04 August 2012 12:19]
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| Re: Unheralded To Phenom |
Mon, 06 August 2012 10:15 |
Teddy_Covers
Messages: 4799
Registered: July 2005 |
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| dr_boilermaker wrote on Sat, 04 August 2012 11:43 |
Well I'm not sure it was the right play but a cashed ticket is a cashed ticket at the end of the day.
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Oakland was most assuredly a 'right side' in that ballgame, entering the 9th with a 4-1 lead after hitting Brett Cecil hard, but being unable to produce the big hit to blow open the game.
Two outs in the 9th -- both strikeouts -- nobody on, 0-1 count, Cook looked dominant. David Cooper flails at the pitch, hits a liner that juuuust gets through the infield into left.
Two outs, runner on first, three run lead, 0-2 count on Rajai Davis. Takes a great at-bat, forces the count full, then gets a single.
Two outs, two on, 0-2 count on Jeff Mathis. Cook throws his only bad pitch of the inning, Mathis hits a liner than juuuust clears the fence. Looked like a double off the wall when he hit it, but the ball carried. Tie game.
We (Oakland) got lucky to win it in extra innings, no doubt -- the Blue Jays squandered so many chances I stopped counting. But it was a one-sided affair for basically the entirety of the first eight innings....
Bottom line: Straily pitched very well for a kid making his MLB debut.....
[Updated on: Mon, 06 August 2012 10:16]
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| Re: Unheralded To Phenom |
Mon, 06 August 2012 19:51 |
Marsh Munroe
Messages: 1751
Registered: October 2005 |
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Under 1st 5 against LLA /Oak Geinke /Streily ??
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