Whitecaps’ Alum hurles No-No for Akron
Soto pitching for the Whitecaps in 2010.
Now a member of the Akron Aeros, former West Michigan Whitecaps pitcher Giovanni Soto pitched a no-hitter against the Altoona Curve this week. The Puerto Rico native struck out six batters and walked three. He took advantage of his teams ability to ‘turn two’ to face just one over the minimum number of hitters at 27. He threw 11 groundouts on 64 strikes.
“I thought about [the no-hitter] around the seventh inning,” Soto told MiLB.com. “I knew I had a catcher, Michel Hernandez, with a lot of experience, so I wasn’t shaking him off. I had command of all my pitches. I was using my fastball more than I usually do. I was keeping the ball down.”
So far this season with Akron, his first in Double-A, he’s sporting a record of 6-6 with a 3.73 ERA. As a member of the Whitecaps in 2010, he was also 6-6, with a 2.61 ERA through 16 games. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians in July of that year in a deal that brought Jhonny Peralta to the Detroit Tigers. Soto was drafted in the 21st round of the 2009 Draft by Detroit.
Photo courtesy of the West Michigan Whitecaps
Minoring In Baseball
That’s so cool! Are No Nos more or less common in the minors than they are in the majors? I know that at different points, offensive skill development is outpacing defensive skill development and vice versa so I can see it being either way.
– Kristen
Kristen-They are kinda rare, because the pitchers are on such a strict pitch count. I’ve seen more combined no-hitters with three or four hurlers ‘pitching’ in.
–Mike
Little league, big leagues or minor leagues, a no-no is a no-no and that’s impressive.
–Jeff
Jeff-very true, sir, they are always impressive!
–Mike