Pitchers of the Week

Here's a look at the top pitching performers in each league for the week ending Aug. 17:

International League
Scott Copeland, Buffalo
(2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14 IP, 10 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 4 BB, 10 K)
After allowing four earned runs over 28 innings in his previous four starts for Double-A New Hampshire, Copeland got the call to Triple-A on Monday and promptly held visiting Norfolk scoreless over seven innings. Five days later he did the same to host Lehigh Valley, earning a pair of wins in his first two International League outings. Though the 26-year-old was reassigned to New Hampshire on Sunday, he's more than proved he can play at the Triple-A level.

Pacific Coast League
Andrew Heaney, New Orleans
(1-0, 0.60 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 15 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 16 K)
It took eight innings -- and some veteran savvy from Mike Jacobs -- for Reno to notch a hit off Heaney on Sunday. The Marlins' top prospect completed eight scoreless innings vs. the Aces to go along with seven one-run frames against Tacoma last Tuesday. Heaney faced 52 batters last week: he fanned 16, walked four and allowed five hits for a .104 average against. Though he's fared less well in his four Major League appearances, Heaney's performance at Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans has been as impressive as expected.
New Orleans' Heaney rings up ninth strikeout

Eastern League
Virgil Vasquez, New Britain
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 2 K)
A seventh-round pick in 2003, Vasquez made 19 Major League appearances between the Tigers and Pirates before spending 2011 and 2012 in independent leagues. Now 32, he's spent the last two seasons with Triple-A Rochester and Double-A New Britain in the Twins organization. The right-hander's outing on Saturday was a standout performance -- he was all but perfect in a seven-inning no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader with Harrisburg. Vasquez did not walk a batter, but one Senator reached on an error in the second inning.
Vasquez no-hits Senators

Southern League
Seth Simmons, Mobile
(0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 12 K)
The jump to Double-A is supposed to be the most difficult for players to handle, but for Simmons it may have been a relief just to get out of the Cal League. After posting a 6.08 ERA in 13 appearances for Visalia, the 26-year-old righty has been dominant for the BayBears, going 1-1 with a 1.51 mark in 29 games. His dominance last week came at the expense of Pensacola, which fanned 12 times over five scoreless innings against Simmons. He last allowed a run on July 14, with 11 scoreless outings since.

Texas League
Tyler DeLoach, Arkansas
(0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 9 K)
DeLoach is also new to Double-A, joining the Travs at the beginning of the month. Though he was very good for Inland Empire in the Cal League -- 10-4 with a 3.21 ERA -- he's been even better in Arkansas. He won his first two starts, fanning 14 over 10 frames, before earning a no-decision in his best outing on Friday: seven innings of scoreless, one-hit ball at Corpus Christi in which he fanned nine more. DeLoach, 23, leads the Angels organization with 12 wins and 145 strikeouts and ranks fourth with a 3.00 overall ERA.
Tyler DeLoach picks up ninth strikeout of the game

California League
Vincent Velasquez, Lancaster
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 11 K)
Velasquez was sidelined for two months by a groin injury before returning to Lancaster in late July, where he's confirmed his status as the Astros' No. 7 prospect. The 22-year-old right-hander, a second-round pick in 2010, struck out a career-high 11 batters over six scoreless innings Thursday to improve to 6-2 in 12 Cal League appearances this season. Velasquez has held Cal League hitters to a .186 average over 46 innings.

Carolina League
Ian Dickson, Potomac
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 8 K)
Dickson's season got off to a rough start -- he gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning on Opening Day for a 54.00 ERA -- and he's been fighting his way back ever since. On Saturday he won his third consecutive decision with eight one-hit innings against the same Carolina team that torched him back in April. Dickson, a 35th-round pick in 2011, said the game was the best of his pro career. It's hard to disagree.

Florida State League
Tyler Glasnow, Bradenton
(2-0, 0.68 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 18 K)
Glasnow turns 21 in five days, meaning he's three years younger than the average Florida State League hurler. Nevertheless, there doesn't seem to be much left to prove in Class A Advanced for the 6-foot-7 right-hander. Last week he claimed his second straight league Pitcher of the Week award with two more wins. In four August starts, Glasnow is 4-0 with a 0.36 ERA, having allowed one run on 10 hits while striking out 34 and walking 10 over 25 1/3 innings. For the season, he's holding FSL hitters to a .167 average -- .122 in August.

Midwest League
Amir Garrett, Dayton
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 12 K)
A college basketball player for St. John's and Cal State-Northridge (though he say as a transfer at the latter and never played), Garrett recently announced he was giving up his hoops career to concentrate on baseball. It's been a good decision so far. After tossing a three-hit, seven-inning shutout Wednesday, the 22-year-old southpaw is 5-2 with a 1.82 ERA and .167 batting average against in the second half of the season. Garrett has won three straight games for the Dragons while fanning 21 over 17 scoreless innings.

South Atlantic League
Andre Wheeler, Kannapolis
(2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 10 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 8 K)
Wheeler has worked both as a starter and out of the bullpen for the Intimidators this season, but a return to the rotation this month has proved beneficial for all involved. The left-hander, a 15th-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2013, fired two scoreless five-inning starts last week and has not yielded a run in his last 17 innings. The pair of victories evened his season record at 3-3 and lowered his 2014 ERA to 2.99.

New York-Penn League
Marcos Molina, Brooklyn
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 12 K)
The strikeouts are coming at a fast and furious rate for Molina lately: on Aug. 2 he fanned nine and Aug. 9 he whiffed 11 before setting down a career-high 12 Vermont Lake Monsters on Friday night. The 19-year-old right-hander is the Mets' No. 16 prospect and has the numbers to back it up this season -- he's 6-2 with a 1.58 ERA in 10 starts for Brooklyn. In 62 2/3 innings, Molina has fanned 73, walked just 12, and has yet to allow a home run while holding NYPL hitters to a .177 average.

Northwest League
Richelson Pena, Spokane
(1-0, 0.75 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 10 K)
Pena packed a pair of strong outings into an important week for Spokane, which heads into the home stretch three games behind first-place Hillsboro. After holding Everett to one run over six innings Monday, the 20-year-old Dominican native fired six scoreless frames Saturday to notch his first win in five weeks. Pena ranks fifth in the Northwest League with a 2.89 ERA.

Appalachian League
Rohn Pierce, Pulaski
3-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G, 8 1/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 3 BB, 10 K)
Three scoreless outings last week dropped Pierce's season ERA from 3.94 to 3.08 while earning him his third, fourth and fifth victories of the campaign. A 19th-round pick out of Canisius in June, Pierce owns a 12 2/3-inning scoreless streak covering all five of his appearances in August. Despite working exclusively out of the bullpen for Pulaski, the 21-year-old right-hander ranks seventh in the league with 49 strikeouts.

Pioneer League
Jorge Ortega, Helena
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 3 K)
On August 7, Ortega was ripped for six runs -- five earned -- on 10 hits over five innings in an 8-4 loss at Idaho Falls. Six days later, the 21-year-old right-hander held the same Chukars club to three hits in seven scoreless innings for his finest game of the season. Ortega's command has been splendid, though his strikeout total, with 29 in 59 innings has been underwhelming. One key to his recent success has been keeping the ball in the park -- after yielding eight home runs over a four-start stretch in late July, Ortega has gone 12 innings without issuing a gopher ball.