(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)
In early June I wrote about the bad luck of Marlins farmhand and current Jupiter Hammerhead Chad James. At the time the 20-year old lefty was 0-9 with a 3.10 ERA. He was pitching well, but as I have mentioned several times before, the problem with the Hammerheads is outside of slugger Kyle Jensen, they can't hit.
Well, after four more losses James finally picked up his first win over the weekend. He only had to hold the Brevard County Manatees to one hit over seven innings to do it. Even then, although James left the game up 5-0, the Hammerheads bullpen provided little solace as Jose Rosario and Chris Squires allowed five runs in the final two frames. Fortunately, the Hammerheads added to their advantage with four insurance runs in the 7th and 8th innings, and were able to pull out the win 9-5.
But back to Chad James.
I'm sure people will look at the back of his baseball cards in years to come and wonder how he worked his way up the Marlins system with a double-digit loss year in 2011. Those who measure effectiveness on wins and losses will be perplexed, but the reality is that James is a good pitcher.
Despite his 1-13 record, he has a 3.59 ERA, good for 14th in the Florida State League.
He has a 3.79 FIP and a 72.3 Left on base percentage. Those are both really solid.
Although he is allowing a little more than a hit per inning, his BABIP is high at .352. That means the defense isn't making the plays behind him that they need to make. He has also allowed 12 unearned runs which can't help his cause.
He has struck out 7.44 per nine innings while only walking 2.84 per nine. His strike out rates are better than average and he is learning control.
As I mentioned, James has the stuff. He has the chance to be a very good pitcher if he can stay consistent. Getting a 13-game losing streak out of the way is a big step in developing the confidence needed to make it.
Now if only the Hammerheads can continue giving him run support to work with.
(Image from milb.com)