10/2/2012: Reno, NV – Clubhouse reporter: So how does it feel to get your first professional win?

Nuke: “It feels out there.  I mean: it’s a major rush.  I mean: it feels radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it feels out there.”

Will we hear similar words from a pitcher in the future?

As you read in my Crash Davis piece, numerous franchises have power-hitting sluggers that have yet to get a taste of a big league bomb – notably Crystal Lake.

On the flipside of the Crash Davis story is, of course, the Nuke.  Nuke LaLoosh is the hard-throwing, wild-as-can-be youngster who eventually gets the call to the majors in Bull Durham.

So for all PEBA diehards out there, we know who the Crash Davis’s of the league are, but who is the next Nuke LaLoosh?

The home office in Reno did some searching to find out just who that next great pitcher might be – if, of course, he ever gains the control that Nuke discovers while in Durham, NC.

Here were the parameters of the search:

1. Must be under 24 years old
2. Throughout the course of his career, the player must have averaged at least eight strikeouts per nine innings and at least three walks per nine innings.

This search did narrow the field, but not too much, as 97 PEBA pitchers were uncovered that met the search requirements.  Here is a team breakdown of where each of the 95 pitchers hails from:

• 1 from Kalamazoo and Tempe
• 2 from Canton, Connecticut, Florida, Gloucester, New Orleans, Omaha and Reno
• 3 from Duluth, London and West Virginia
• 4 from Arlington, Charleston, New Jersey and Yuma
• 5 from Aurora, Bakersfield and Manchester
• 6 from Kentucky
• 7 from Palm Springs and San Antonio
• 8 from Fargo

And… you guessed it… 11 from Crystal Lake!

Of course, there aren’t 97 Nukes, so we had to narrow it down some more.  We cut the remaining field down to the hard-throwers – minimum 94-96 MPH velocity requirements.  Of course, we then weeded out those pitchers who have already had success at the major league level – for cryin’ out loud: you can’t be Nuke and already be in the bigs!

After further study, this reporter can safely nominate five pitchers who could be the next Nuke.  Some have heralded pasts with high draft round credentials, while others are no-names who could potentially become stars down the road.  So without further delay, your five Nukes-in-waiting:

Davis Sutherland
TEAM: Duluth
LEVEL: Double-A in 2012
AGE: 20
ACQUIRED: 6^th round pick in 2010 draft

A guy who could be a starter, reliever or closer down the road, Davis put up his most impressive season in the 2012 season, with over 20 saves and more than a strikeout per inning.  He already has 3 solid pitches and throws in the high 90s.  Scouts believe he has room to grow in terms of control, so don’t be surprised if Sutherland is on the Duluth staff by 2014.

Oliver Olivarez
TEAM: London
LEVEL: Single-A in 2012
AGE: 22
ACQUIRED: 5^th round pick in 2011 draft

The stat sheet for Olivarez is very similar to Sutherland: great K numbers with room to grow in terms of control.  He is definitely ready for a promotion after gaining NAFTA Outstanding Pitcher honors this year.  Expect a leap up to Triple-A in 2013, with a possible promotion to the PEBA in 2014.

Matthew Barnes
TEAM: New Orleans
LEVEL: Single-A for most of 2012 before a late-season promotion to AA
AGE: 23
ACQUIRED: 6^th round pick in 2011 draft

Barnes is almost certainly a closer or setup man in the future, as he doesn’t have the stamina or variety of pitches that Olivarez and Sutherland possess.  However, employing a combination of fastballs and changeups, Barnes was virtually unhittable in 2012.  He is definitely someone to keep an eye on in the future.  Expect him to get a chance on the New Orleans staff by 2014.

Brad Kemp
TEAM: Duluth
LEVEL: Short-Season A for most of 2012
AGE: 21
ACQUIRED: 4^th round pick in 2012 draft

PEBA fans haven’t seen much of Kemp since he was just recently drafted out of California.  Kemp is a Matthew Barnes clone with slightly higher upside – possibly more effective in his pitches with slightly higher velocity.  This is someone to keep a close eye on in 2013 during his first full season of professional baseball.

José Paz
TEAM: Crystal Lake
LEVEL: Short-Season A in 2012
AGE: 19
ACQUIRED: 3^rd round pick in 2012 draft

How could we possibly come up with five Nukes-of-the-future and not include one of the 11 Sandgnats we mentioned earlier?  Paz is probably the best prospect of the five pitchers listed in this article.  Another hard-throwing youngster with great potential value in the bullpen, Paz has a knack for inducing groundballs with his nasty sinker.  Interestingly, before putting up solid numbers at Mauna Loa in SS-A, José really struggled his last two years of high school 

Crash Davis and Nuke LaLoosh are definitely two of the characters that make Bull Durham the baseball epic that it is.  It will certainly be interesting to keep an eye on these ten individuals –five hitters and five pitchers – to see if any of them turn into PEBA superstars someday.