ASG candidates: Micro starters

The Micro Conference doesn't seem to have the depth at starting pitcher that the Diamond Conference has, but that doesn't mean there's no all-star quality names to consider for the potential roster.

If no-hitters are a qualification for your all-star ballot, then Vancouver's Johnny Cueto is your man. His no-no in June helped his otherwise to-this-point mediocre stats and fueled an Iron First resurgence after a slow start. He's now 7-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.81 and his WHIP to 1.21. Teammate Matt Latos deserves a look, with a lower ERA (3.05), WHIP (1.18) and better winning percentage, 7-4.

Rookie Tanner Roark is probably the least-heralded name in the Allentown rotation but he leads the squad with a 2.88 ERA (good for 10th in the league) and stands at 7-5. Lefty David Price is the veteran of the rotation, and despite just an 8-7 mark, he's among the league leaders in WHIP (1.01), strikeouts (126), innings (127.1) and complete games (5) to go with 2 shutouts. A couple of other Mules might warrant consideration. Hishahi Iwakuma is 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.18 WHIP while John Lackey is 8-6 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Roark and Lackey also have a conference-leading 12 quality starts.

Collin McHugh is the strongest candidate for Poovey Farms. He is second in the conference with a 1.04 WHIP and stands at 9-4 with a 3.07 ERA.

Hoboken is led by an unlikely candidate. Hiroki Kuroda, in his final season, is tops in the conference with 10 wins, to go with 11 quality starts, 3.12  ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Two other Cutters are on opposite sides of the ballot. Despite a 4.59 ERA, Kyle Lohse has been lucky enough to go 9-4 while Clayton Kershaw is just 6-7 despite leading the league virtually all year in strikeouts (150) and among the most innnings pitched (121.7). He's also third in K/BB (6.5) and though his 3.77 ERA isn't all-star like he sports a 1.17 WHIP and 3 complete games.

Corey Kluber is Sardine City's best hope for an all-star starter. Another candidate with a weak record (6-5), the righty is carrying the rotation, with a league-high 5 complete games, in addition to 2 shutouts. He's also among the conferences elite in strikeouts (123) and WHIP (1.14) and innings (118.2).

Blue Ridge dealt its best pitcher, Jon Lester, earlier in the year. He was 6-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 12 starts. Now the Bombers are left with Matt Garza as their best hope. Though he's 5-6, the veteran righty has a 3.64 ERA and among the conference's best in WHIP (1.12) and quality starts (11).

Arkansas ripped off a huge winning streak toward the midway point of the season, thanks mostly to its offense, but Matt Shoemaker and Alex Cobb have been among the beneficiaries. Shoemaker has improved to 8-4 with a 1.14 WHIP though his 4.05 ERA could be a turn-off. Cobb has the better ERA (3.28) but weaker WHIP (1.26) yet he's 7-5 in 10 quality starts. Rookie Marcus Stroman also is 7-5 with a 1.17 WHIP and 3.82 ERA.

Buddahs stun Vegas, take 2 of 3

New Jersey stunned Las Vegas in a 5-1 victory, taking 2 of 3 from the Rat Pack. Although the Rats are almost a lock to make the playoffs, dropping a series to last place New Jersey can't help when it comes to positioning. With the loss, the Rats fell into 5th place overall, 1/2 game behind the Mudcats and 3 1/2 ahead of 6th place Vancouver. They're still not in any real danger of falling out of a playoff berth - they are currently 9 1/2 games ahead of 7th place Philadelphia.

Carolina inched one game closer to first place with an 8-4 victory over Arkansas. Carlos Zambrano allowed 2 unearned runs and 7 hits in 7 innings of work to improve to 13-8 on the season. Grady Sizemore, subbing for the injured Vernon Wells, was 2-5 with 3 RBIs.

The Hired Hitmen fell to D.C. 7-3. Another injury replacement, this time Howie Kendrick playing for Felipe Lopez, was 3-4 with a double in leading the O-Bomber offense. David Bush continues his resurgence for D.C. Before joining the O-Bombers, Bush was 6-8 with a 6.17 ERA for Philly and Sardine City. He's been 2-2 with a respectable 4.61 ERA since D.C. signed him, including 3 straight quality starts.

Vancouver's Ben Sheets pitched a 9-hit shutout against former teammate Hiroki Kuroda and the Endzone Animals. Sheets struck out 8 and walked 1, improving his record to 11-8. Meanwhile, Kuroda has struggled since being acquired by Philly, but facing Newark twice in 4 starts will do that to you. Yesterday's outing against the Fist was his best yet since changing uniforms - 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 7 K.

Newark bullpen stifles Cutters

Newark shut out the Cutters last night on three hits, mostly thanks to their bullpen. Starter Chien-Ming Wang left the game after 2 innings after a torrential downpour delayed the game for almost an hour. The key performer was Manny Delcarmen who pitched a perfect 3 innings and struck out 4. Jason Giambi and J.D. Drew drove in all of the runs on home runs in the 4th inning. It was Newark's 5th in a row.

Another red-hot team is D.C., who took their 6th straight in a 9-4 win over Arkansas. Ryan Zimmerman was 3-5 with a homer and 4 RBI and Jose Reyes contributed a triple and a home run. D.C. still has a ways to go as the club is still 8 games under .500 and 6 games behind Vancouver, who occupies the final playoff spot.

Speaking of Vancouver, Hiroki Kuroda, pitching in the place of injured Jake Peavy pitched a complete game shutout of Blue Ridge, holding the Bombers to 5 hits and striking out 2. It was Kuroda's first career victory in the DMBL. Peavy will miss another one or two starts, but after that, will the Fist keep Kuroda in the rotation? He was an early season replacement for Paul Maholm, but he was injured after his second start, replaced by Greg Maddux, who has since been the Fist's most effective starter. Will another injury bring Kuroda back into the mix? Stay tuned.