Baby Bomber Alumni Dominate on the Mound

Several ex-Staten Island Yankees pitchers are excelling throughout the minors

By: Robert Pimpsner

April 26, 2008 – After this season former Staten Island Yankees pitcher Eric Hacker is eligible for the Rule-V draft.  Judging by his performance so far this season it would not be surprising if the Yankees try to protect him on their 40-man roster.  The young right-hander was drafted out of High School in 2002 and made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Yankees.  In 2003 he had a brief 2-game stint with the Baby Bombers, allowing just 1 run in 9 innings.  After his 2 starts with the Staten Island Yankees Hacker was missed the rest of the season with a right elbow strain.  After undergoing “Tommy John” surgery he messed the entire 2004 season before returning to action in 2005 and was a South Atlantic League All-Star with a 1.60 ERA in 10 starts.

            Last season Hacker spent some time at three different levels in the Yankees organization.  Starting 24 out of 27 games he appeared in he was 13-5 with a 3.64 ERA between Charleston, Tampa and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  This season the right-hander started the season with the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League and has since opened some eyes with his performances this season.

            So far in 2008 Hacker has pitched 33 innings over 5 starts and has a 2-1 record with a microscopic 0.82 ERA.  He has not allowed an earned run since his first start on April 3 against the Lakeland Flying Tigers.  Hacker has limited Florida State League hitters to just a .125 average and allowed only 2 walks while striking out 24.  Out of the 5 starts he has went 7 innings in 3 of them and in the other 2 he went 6.  In April 8 the young right-hander was perfect for 7 innings limited only by his pitch count.

            Hacker is not the only Staten Island Yankee Alumni dominating on the mound.  Zach McAllister, Ryan Pope, Daniel McCutchen and Jason Jones have been excelling for their respective teams.  McAllister joins fellow Baby Bomber pitcher Dellin Betances with the Charleston Riverdogs of the South Atlantic League.  In his 4 starts of the year McAllister is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA.  Like Hacker, he has only allowed 3 earned runs this season, and is limiting the South Atlantic League hitters to a .174 ERA while striking out 19 in 24 innings.

            Ryan Pope, the Yankees third round pick in 2007, joins Hacker with the Tampa Yankees.  Pope is 1-2 this season with a 1.89 ERA in 4 games.  He has walked just 5 while striking out 17 batters in 19 innings.

            The Trenton Thunder have a starting rotation that is comprised entirely of ex-Staten Island Yankees, among them are Daniel McCutchen and Jason Jones.  McCutchen is in his second tour of duty with the Thunder, after spending half of last season helping Trenton to their first title.  This season McCutchen is 3-1 in Double-A, allowing only 5 earned runs in 31.2 innings for a 1.42 ERA.  He has limited Eastern League batters to a .159 average and has walked seven while striking out 31.  His best game was the other night when he struck out 12 batters in 7 innings.

            Jason Jones is also in his second stint with the Trenton Thunder.  The right-hander is 3-0 this season in 4 games.  He has a 1.80 ERA in 25 innings.  As a ground ball pitcher he does not strike out many batters and that is true for Jones in 2008 as he has struck out just 9 batters this season.