HWB: Joba in Command

November 13, 2006
In the second to last week of the Hawaii Winter Baseball League, Joba Chamberlain brought his WHIP down to 0.77 through 33.2 innings. The prized Yankee pitching prospect has now walked just three batters and hit one. With the kind of command that he has displayed, Chamberlain could be in a Yankee uniform a lot sooner than expected – a 2007 Double-A finish looks to be within reason.


MLB Prospect Highlights: 11/7-11/12

West Oahu Cane Fires

  • Joba Chamberlain (P, NYY) put together one of the most dominant pitching performances of the week. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound righty gave up just three hits and no walks in 5.0 shutout innings. Chamberlain also struck out seven. He lowered his ERA to 2.14, WHIP to 0.77, and batting average against to .190. Chamberlain ranks second in the league with 42 strikeouts and 5th in ERA. He has given up three home runs in 33.2 innings.
  • John Mayberry Jr. (OF, TEX), who may have earned a starting job in Double-A Frisco to open the 2007 season with his play this fall, went 3-for-9 with a double last week. He started just two games.
  • Ian Kennedy (P, NYY) lasted just 3.2 innings, as he gave up two runs on three hits and one walk. Kennedy did, however, strike out six of the eleven batters that he retired.


Waikiki Beach Boys

  • Marco Estrada (P, WAS) was selected in the 6th round out of Long Beach State in 2005. Estrada, 23, struck batters out but was hit hard in Low-A Vermont. He opened 2006 in rookie ball, where he was dominant (10.27 K/9, 0.85 WHIP). Estrada did not fair as well in Single-A Savannah. The 6-foot-0, 180-pound righty only threw 60.2 innings last year in the minors. After another solid week last week, Estrada’s Hawaii numbers sparkle: 1.48 ERA, 31 K/12 BB, and a 1.19 WHIP.
  • Beach boy hitters were mowed down all week. Devin Ivany (C, WAS) had the team’s only multi-hit games all week (Saturday and Sunday).
  • Henricus Vanden Hurk (P, FLA) struck out seven batters and walked three in 5.0 innings on one-run, no-hit ball. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound 21-year old owns a .177 batting average against and 50 strikeouts in the HWBL, but he has walked 15 batters in 31.0 innings.


North Shore Honu (name means green turtle)

  • Blake Eager (P, NYM) pitched 5.0 two-hit innings on Tuesday the 7th. Selected by the Mets in the 30th round of the 2004 draft, Eager struck out four and walked two. Batters are hitting .286 against Eager, 24, but he does have 15 strikeouts in 18.1 innings to go along with a 1.36 WHIP and 3.93 ERA.
  • Mike Carp (1B, NYM) went 6-for-19 on the week with two doubles. Carp, 20, is fourth in the league with a .280 batting average and 13 RBI.


Honolulu Sharks

  • Jeff Moore (P, BAL), a 17th round draft pick from 2005 pitched 5.0 one-hit innings on Friday. The 23-year-old from University of North Carolina-Wilmington walked two and struck out six in the outing. Moore now has a 1.40 WHIP, 3.14 ERA, and 21 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.


Adam Foster can be reached at adamwfoster@gmail.com.