We Got Wood - 45.27 - Warren Brought up to Double-A

[7teen]

The Portland Lumberjacks are not going to mess around with their super prospect and 4th overall pick Steve Warren. While many fans clamor for the starting pitcher to be in Portland helping the hapless 18-54 Lumberjacks, the front office is going to continue to play things easy and safe with the southpaw who has already made his mark on the Single-A circuit with the Wise Heaters.

In 4 starts with Wise, Warren has been close to unhittable. Warren is a perfect 4-0 in his outings for the Heaters, posting a 0.93 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched. During that span, he's allowed just 12 hits and 5 walks while striking out 39 batters. In his first professional start, Warren went out and struck out 13 batters in 7.2 innings pitched against the Shreveport Mudcats. The start, and subsequent performances by Warren, led his manager Grux King, a former BBA pitcher in his own right to say: "he might be the most polished pitcher I've ever seen come through the draft and into this organization. Most kids that come out of school to the bigs know how to throw, but they have to learn how to pitch. Warren already knows how to pitch. He's a treat to watch. He makes doing my job a lot easier."

Much to the displeasure of King, his job is about to get harder as the front office announced today that Warren will be called up to Double-A this week to pitch with the Alpine Valley Snow Creatures.

"It's all part of our process with Warren" commented assistant general manager Kate Fiscus. "We've seen Warren pitch. We know he could probably be here in Portland now. But we aren't going to rush him right into our rotation. We want him to at least work his way up the ladder first and get exposure and development at each level first."

Fiscus went on to add that fans that are hoping to see Warren in Portland this season are likely going to be disappointed. "We have no reason to rush him up here this season. If Portland fans want to see Warren, buy a ticket to one of our minor league teams this season. Warren will get enough starts in Double-A for us to get a good evaluation of him there. If he performs well, expect him to make it to Quincy with the Triple-A squad before the season ends. If things go good in both Alpine Valley and Quincy, then Warren could be here in Portland in 2046."

There was some speculation that the front office may keep Warren in Single A all this season in order to help the Heaters win a Single-A championship, the only division Portland has yet to claim victory in. However, it appears Warren's development and his help at the big league level soon has outweighed the front office's desire to claim another minor league title. The club did call up Pedro Soto from the team's Short-A squad in Antigua to fill Warren's spot in the rotation for the Heaters. The Heaters begin play this week with a 46-28 record which puts them 2.5 games up in their respective division and the 4th best record in the Single-A classification.

[RonCo]

Sounds like a good promotion. Of course.