MWL PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Robert Gasser
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Fort Wayne TinCaps left-handed pitcher Robert Gasser has won the High-A Midwest League’s Pitcher of the Week award for June 13-19, Minor League Baseball announced Monday. The 2021 second-round draft pick made two starts in Fort Wayne’s series at Lansing. In total, Gasser recorded 12 scoreless
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Fort Wayne TinCaps left-handed pitcher Robert Gasser has won the High-A Midwest League’s Pitcher of the Week award for June 13-19, Minor League Baseball announced Monday.
The 2021 second-round draft pick made two starts in Fort Wayne’s series at Lansing. In total, Gasser recorded 12 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts, and just four hits and three walks.
In Sunday’s series finale, the California native threw seven no-hit innings. The southpaw walked the first batter he faced and then retired the next 21 Lugnuts batters in a row. The University of Houston alum earned the win in that start, as well as in his five-inning outing last Tuesday to begin the series.
Gasser?
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 19, 2022
That's about right.
No. 8 @Padres prospect Robert Gasser fanned eight over seven innings of no-hit ball for the @TinCaps. pic.twitter.com/tRaB4iG2QY
Going back to his last start at Parkview Field on June 8, Gasser has thrown 13 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. For the season, he ranks third in the Midwest League in strikeouts (80), eighth in WHIP (1.21), and ninth in ERA (4.10). He’s struck out 31% of the batters he’s faced, or 11.31 per nine innings.
Under the direction of manager Brian Esposito and pitching coach Jimmy Jones, Gasser is MLB.com’s No. 8 San Diego Padres prospect. The lefty previously gained acclaim as the 2019 ABCA/Rawlings National Pitcher of the Year at San Joaquin Delta College (CA). Gasser parlayed that junior college success into a scholarship at Houston, where he developed into the Cougars’ ace in 2021 before being selected by the Padres.
As the Minor League season nears the halfway mark, some players are kicking into high gear.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 20, 2022
Here's our latest Prospect Team of the Week: https://t.co/bSXzITSNro pic.twitter.com/ubE0ZVe3TZ
This is the third weekly award given to a TinCaps player this season, and second to a pitcher. Last week, Brandon Komar was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. Outfielder Joshua Mears was named Midwest League Player of the Week for April 18-24 following another series at Lansing.
The last time the TinCaps claimed consecutive Midwest League Pitcher of the Week awards was June 2019, when Joey Cantillo won the honor back-to-back weeks on his way to eventually being named the league’s Left-Handed Pitcher of the Year. This is the first time the TinCaps have had teammates win a weekly award back-to-back since July 2012, when infielder Tyler Stubblefield and outfielder Kyle Gaedele received consecutive Player of the Week accolades. (Aug. 20, 2017 is the only time the ’Caps have swept the awards with Lake Bachar winning Pitcher of the Week, while Hudson Potts won Player of the Week.) These honors date back to 2005.
After their 14-0 win at Lansing on Sunday in which they also tied a franchise record for hits in a game with 22, Gasser and the TinCaps begin a new series at Parkview Field on Tuesday against the Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate). Click here for tickets and more information.