The World Cup is in full swing. The US has made history by not only breaking through the group round, but also by actually winning their group - for the first time in 90 years - with a 90+ minute goal against Algeria.
It seems for once, everyone in the country is on the edge of his or her seat to watch soccer. The sport has sat in the shadows for so long and is finally breaking ranks and winning over the heart of Americans.
Naturally then, I want to talk about baseball.
And don’t get me wrong, I have approximately 12 hours of soccer on DVR and I, too, am loving the World Cup.
But, I finally saw Julio Teheran pitch the other day. I’ve read about him, I’ve heard about him, and I’ve listened to live radio broadcasts while he stood dominating the mound.
The talk has been good. At the beginning of the season, when all eyes – including mine – were on Jason Heyward, Teheran sat in the wings. Heyward was named the No. 1 prospect in all of the minor leagues. Teheran took No. 34 on the same list.
He’s 19 and from Columbia and his English isn’t great, but that’s OK because his arm does the talking.
In 39 innings Teheran has struck out 49 batters. In one game alone, he struck out 14 and in two different outings he struck out 12. With numbers like these, you’d think he was pitching to teams without heavy bats, but not even close.
He struck out 12 batters each in games against the first half Carolina League Southern-Division Champions from Winston-Salem and the Potomac Nationals who have 11 different players hitting at or above .248. As a team, the Winston-Salem Dash led the entire league hitting .296.
The 14-strikeout game was against the Frederick Keys, who have the third highest team batting average in all of the Carolina League at .261. They also won the first half in the Northern-Division.
And if you’re wondering about power, all three teams sent hitters to participate in the home run derby at the California-Carolina League All-Star game. It was a Dash player who took the derby crown.
So, clearly the players can it. But, Teheran who easily throws fastballs in the mid-90s and topping out at a blazing 97-mph. Add to that his mid-80s changeup and the kid seems untouchable.
He’s gone 3-1 with Myrtle Beach and holds a 1.38 ERA.
At the beginning of the season, when he was named the No. 34 prospect the major league analysts predicted he would debut in the Majors in 2013. But if he holds onto this quick progress he’ll take the mound in Atlanta sooner than that.
One things for sure, he’ll be shipping out of Myrtle Beach as quickly as he closes an inning.
Already missed him at the beach? Catch him on TV. He was selected as one of two players from the Braves organization to play in the 2010 Futures game July 11 on MLB.TV, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD starting at 6 p.m.
