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Midwest League Pitcher of the Week: LHP Devin Smeltzer – Dodgers

Devin Smeltzer is off to a great start to the 2017 season and he ended the month of April with two dominant performances in the final week. The 6’3 lefty out of Voorhees, New Jersey added to his already hot start by posting 11 strong innings between those two games. Smeltzer’s first start of the week came on Tuesday against the Lake County Captains in a 9-0 home victory for his Great Lake Loons. He tossed six innings of two hit, shutout ball, making it the third straight start that he did not allow a single run or more than two hits. He did this while striking out eight and not issuing a single free pass.

While he proved he wasn’t perfect in his second start of the week by allowing two runs, he still gave the Loons a solid five innings against the Dayton Dragons. Consistency has been the key for Smeltzer this season and while he couldn’t hold his opponent off the board for a fourth straight start, he struck out eight and walked none for the second game in a row. Smeltzer put his team in a great position to win the game before he was taken out after the fifth.

Photo Courtesy of milb.com

4/25 vs. Lake County: W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 8 SO, 0 BB

4/30 @ Dayton: L, 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 8 SO, 0 BB

A hot April has Smeltzer sitting at the top of Midwest leaderboards in a lot of categories. Perhaps his most impressive stats are his 10.50 K/BB ratio and his walk rate of 3.1%. The 2016 fifth round pick out of San Jacinto Junior College in Texas is best known for his command alongside his off speed and breaking pitches. He doesn’t throw the hardest, high 80’s to low 90’s, but he has certainly proven you don’t have to rely on the radar gun to put up big strikeout numbers. While it remains to be seen if Smeltzer will make the transition to the bullpen as he continues to move up the Dodgers system, one thing is for sure, he is certainly making a case to break the Dodgers top 30 prospects next season.

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