Javier gives Buies Creek another gem

Class A Advanced Buies Creek pitching coach Drew French knows Cristian Javier doesn't have the most unique repertoire on the hill, but he does have some deception in his delivery that gives him an advantage against advanced hitters. And in a small sample since joining the Carolina League ranks, the results have very dominant.
Houston's No. 18 prospect fired a career-high seven scoreless innings, yielding four hits and a walk while whiffing eight in Wednesday's 7-3 victory over Myrtle Beach at TicketReturn.com Field. 

"I don't if [Javier] necessarily knows how unique he is, but he's one of the more unique pitchers in Minor League Baseball right now," French said. "Just in terms of the stuff, there are a lot of guys playing right now that have similar packages. There's a uniqueness to the delivery. There's a uniqueness to the way hitters perceive his certain pitch types. I think he plays off those things really well. Not being scared to throw any pitch in any count allows him to not necessarily get into survival mode."
After finishing last season with Class A Quad Cities, Javier was back in the Midwest League to begin this year, amassing a 2-2 record with a 1.82 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 11 appearances (seven starts). Since his promotion June 12, his numbers have improved as the right-hander has yielded just one earned run while sporting a 0.67 WHIP through 18 innings. 
In completing the longest start of his career, Javier trimmed his ERA to 0.50. Between the two levels this year, he sports a 1.47 ERA, which ranks seventh among all starters in full season leagues.
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Following No. 10 Astros prospect Hector Perez's seven-inning shutout Tuesday, Javier took the ball and threw 64 strikes over a season-high 102 pitches. French said Javier took a lot of notes during the previous day's doubleheader in preparation for his start. 
Having worked with Javier in parts of three other seasons, French said the starter tends to shy away from using his changeup and curveball, staying mostly with a fastball-slider mix. But on Wednesday, Javier mixed in all four pitches, effectively keeping the Pelicans off balance.
"The next day's starting pitcher is next to me in the dugout doing the game chart," the pitching coach said. "[Javier] got to see that lineup for a doubleheader very closely for the entirety of the day. He paid attention a little more so than he would have been on any other day. I don't know if he fed off [Perez's start], but he understood how to attack these hitters best.
"I think his intelligence to read swings and do some of those things -- it maybe isn't taught as much as it used to be -- but it's something that having that general feel with the stuff he has allows him to have success and minimize damage when he has runners on base."
The 21-year-old faced three over the minimum and never put more than one batter on in any inning. Despite allowing a baserunner in all but the sixth, Javier never let the Pelicans to get into scoring position. 
French admires the calm demeanor Javier carries in every situation during his starts. It's a trait the pitching coach would like to see his entire pitching staff exude on the hill.
"He doesn't get affected by the game -- period," French said. "Nothing really fazes him. His mentality and his toughness mentally are things that allow him to be consistent with the ebbs and flows during the course of the season and a game. To me, that's probably the most impressive thing about him. I hope that some our guys are able to notice that he's able to respond to base hits and hit by pitches and walks in such a positive way that he continues to attack."
The Dominican Republic native fanned Luis Ayala and eighth-ranked Cubs prospect  D.J. Wilson before No. 2 prospect Aramis Ademan smacked a single to right. Javier battled with Jhonny Pereda for seven pitches, inducing a groundout to first to end the stanza.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound hurler came back out for the seventh, getting No. 25 Cubs prospect Wladimir Galindo to fly out to left. P.J. Higgins reached by getting plunked, but Javier whiffed Andruw Monasterio and then catcher Chuckie Robinson, the Astros' No. 26 prospect, cut down Higgins at second on a steal attempt. 

At 84 pitches through six innings, French said there was no question about whether or not Javier would get the ball for another frame. The coach was not surprised to see the starter work through adversity to get through the seventh. 
"Especially with back-to-back days with Hector Perez doing it yesterday and [Javier] doing it today, it speaks volumes to how efficient they are in their outings," French said. "Under certain pitch-count restrictions, you're not seeing guys get that deep in games and yielding eight strikeouts and a walk and a hit by pitch. That's just not happening because when you strike out eight, nine or 10 because those are usually five- or six-pitch at-bats. Those types of things add up."
On the offensive side, Houston's No. 28 prospect Abraham Toro crushed a three-run shot for his 12th homer of the year while Corey Julks finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored for Buies Creek.