Ellis high on Bobwhites pitching
January 31, 1997
WASHINGTON D.C. — Pitchers and catchers will soon report for spring training and Bobwhites pitching coach Dock Ellis has high hopes for the hurlers on the reigning Johnson League Atlantic Division champions.
"We have some pretty good guys out there fighting for spots," Ellis said at a fan event in a Georgetown mall. "I'm eager for us to get down to Florida and see what we've got, man."
Headlining the pitching staff are right-handers Shane Christen and Ken Howell. Christen, 26, went 27-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 34 starts for Washington last season, striking out 268 in 253 1/3 innings while posting a very impressive 0.98 WHIP. Christen owns a 53-17 record with a 2.71 ERA in three years with the Bobwhites, resulting in an average win-loss record of 17-6 in that span. Howell, 36, has been a consistent force over his career and Ellis believes he will continue to be so in the 1997 season. Howell went 18-12 with a 3.27 ERA in 37 starts, striking out 238 in 242 1/3 innings for Washington last season. He went 23-6 with a 2.06 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 1995, his first season with the club.
"I honestly believe we have the best 1-2 punch in the game with those two guys," said Ellis.
Fighting for the remainder of the spots in the rotation will be southpaws John Flaskamper and Jimu Harunobu, and right-handers Brad Brink, Gus Cantrell, Kevin McAdam, Todd Van Poppel, and Doc Windgate.
Flaskamper, 29, went 7-7 with a 4.73 ERA in 17 starts with Washington last year, but has not pitched terribly well over his career with a lifetime mark of 49-68 with a 5.30 ERA in eight big league seasons. His best season was his first with the Bobwhites, 1993, when he went 13-9 with a 4.34 ERA in 31 games. While with Baltimore early in his career, Flaskamper went 9-19 with a 5.99 ERA in 1990 (his first full big league season) and 9-15 with a 5.86 ERA in 1992.
Harunobu, 22, is a Japanese-born lefty who went 10-5 with a 4.11 ERA in 25 starts in AA, his first full season as a professional ballplayer. He had made one relief appearance in 1995. Boxy, as he is nicknamed, is not expected by most analysts to make the club out of spring training.
Brink, 32, worked out of the rotation and the bullpen last year, putting together a lackluster 3-6 record and 6.04 ERA in 73 innings. Cantrell, 27, is expected to make the rotation after going 10-9 with a 4.53 ERA in 34 games, 24 starts, as a rookie with Washington last season.
McAdam, 23, has made a quick climb up the ladder as he made 22 starts with Washington in 1995, though he made just two with the big league club last year. He owns a 7-9 record and 5.37 ERA in135 2/3 innings with Washington but is someone the organization appears to favor.