Kickham Southern League Pitcher of the Week

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp left-handed starting pitcher Mike Kickham has been named the Southern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 22-28, announced by the league office Tuesday morning.

Kickham was dominant in his one start during the week on Saturday May 27 against the Jackson Generals at the Baseball Grounds. While he had a no decision, Kickham worked six and two-third scoreless innings where he tied a career high with 12 strikeouts while walking only one batter and scattering just three hits.
"My catcher (Austin Nola) called a great game," Kickham said about his start on Saturday. "We really executed well with the cutter. A couple of our hitters told me how tough it was to see at the plate early on. I noticed that myself when I got up there, so I definitely exploited that on the mound."
Jackson ended up winning the game 4-2 with late runs against the Jacksonville bullpen. His 12 strikeouts matched a career high set with Double-A Richmond on Aug. 12, 2012. This is the third time in his career he has won a league's weekly pitching honor, being the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week on Aug. 6, 2012, and the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week on August 12, 2013 when he was with Triple-A Fresno.
Kickham this season is 1-3 with a 2.91 ERA in his 10 appearances and nine starts. He has shined in May, with a 1-0 record and a 1.14 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 31 and two-thirds innings of work.
This is the first season for Kickham in the Marlins organization, after signing with the organization in the offseason. Kickham, 28, has pitched professionally since he was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the sixth round of the 2010 draft out of Missouri State. The St. Louis, Mo., native pitched in parts of two big league seasons with the Giants in 2013 and 2014.
While Kickham is the first Southern League Pitcher of the Week for the Jumbo Shrimp, David Vidal was named the league's Player of the Week for the week of April 17-23.
The Jumbo Shrimp and Blue Wahoos will begin their series with the first game of the five-game series on Tuesday at 7:35 p.m. ET. Right-handed pitcher Omar Bencomo (4-2, 4.53 ERA) will start for Jacksonville against Pensacola right-hander Tyler Mahle (5-2, 1.72 ERA). Fans can listen to the game on the Jumbo Shrimp Network presented by Community First, beginning at 7:20 p.m. ET with the pregame show "Shrimp On Deck" on FM 100.3 & AM 1600 The Biz, the TuneIn Radio app, and www.jaxshrimp.com.
ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are beginning a new era of affordable family fun with the 2017 season presented by Community First Credit Union at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. With a new lineup of ticket and group options, there is a reason for everyone to get part of the action by calling the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visiting www.jaxshrimp.com.