The Bradenton Marauders placed right-handed pitcher Cody Bolton on the 7-day injured list on Tuesday. That news was followed by the promotion of right-handed pitcher Brad Case from Greensboro to Bradenton.
Bolton is listed as being out with a groin strain. I’m told that the move to place him on the injured list is a way to help limit his innings this year more than anything else. He would have missed last night’s start without the trip to the injured list, though the injury is minor and gives them a chance to get him a rest, which was going to happen at some point anyway.
Bolton pitched just 44.1 innings last year before his season ended due to a forearm strain. That doesn’t include about 20-25 innings in Extended Spring Training before he was promoted to West Virginia. He is already at 54.2 innings this season, which is two weeks short of the halfway point. That put him on pace for approximately 130 innings. The normal increase you want to see for a young player is about 30-35 in one season, though pitch counts factor in just as much.
Through ten starts this season, he has a 1.81 ERA, with an 0.90 WHIP, a .184 BAA and a 62:12 SO/BB ratio.
On Tuesday morning, Brad Case was announced as a South Atlantic League All-Star. On Tuesday night, he found out that he wouldn’t be participating in that game. Case is on his way to Bradenton. The Marauders were already down a rotation spot due to the promotion of Domingo Robles to Altoona. They used relievers Hunter Stratton on Monday and Samuel Reyes last night to cover for Robles and Bolton being gone. Stratton will likely remain in the rotation, as he is stretched out more than Reyes.
Case currently leads the South Atlantic League with an 0.77 WHIP. He has a 2.45 ERA (fifth in the league) and 50:3 SO/BB ratio. His 66 innings pitched are the second most in the league.
A 17th round pick last year, Case began with the GCL Pirates due to some early mechanical changes the Pirates wanted to make with him. As a college player, it was a low starting point, but it allowed him to work through an adjustment against lesser competition. Since that point, he made brief stops with Bristol and Morgantown last year, then won a starting job at Greensboro this season. He pitched his way to the All-Star selection and this promotion, while recently showing a major improvement in his cutter, which gives him a solid four-pitch mix, to go along with a low-90s fastball, a slider as his out pitch, and a changeup.
