Pitchers of the Week

International League
Jason Hirsh, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
2-0, 2.08 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 14 K
Yankees farmhand Jason Hirsh tossed five shutout innings Tuesday, leaving without allowing a run for his second time in two starts. Hirsh scattered three hits and a pair of walks over the outing in Syracuse, striking out five along the way. Facing the PawSox in Rhode Island on Sunday, Hirsh struck out the first two batters he faced, walked the third and then struck out the fourth, fifth and sixth. The seventh batter, Yamaico Navarro, hit Hirsh's 3-1 pitch over the left-field fence, but the 28-year-old righty stayed in a groove. He worked 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth, and by the time he was done, he'd thrown eight strong innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and a pair of walks while striking out nine.

Pacific Coast League
Michael Kirkman, Oklahoma City
2-0, 2.31 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 2/3 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 6 BB, 12 K
Texas prospect Michael Kirkman's two wins this week give him 12 on the season, one fewer than PCL leader Eric Hacker, and Kirkman's 3.00 ERA is third best in the league. He handed the Iowa Cubs their only August loss, giving up a run on five hits and two walks while whiffing four Tuesday. A pair of solo home runs put the Sky Sox on the board against him on Sunday, but Kirkman escaped the high air of Colorado Springs otherwise unscored upon. He surrendered six hits and four walks, but he used eight punchouts to get out of trouble over the course of 5 2/3 innings.

Eastern League
Brooks Brown, Erie
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 4 K
Brooks Brown opened July with a complete-game shutout, and he repeated the trick this month. The Tigers prospect shut down the R-Phils in Reading on Friday, walking one and giving up six hits while fanning four over nine innings. Only twice did the Phillies get two men aboard in the same inning, and no Reading runner ever got to third base. Brown has tossed four complete games this year, two more than any other Eastern League hurler, and he's the only EL pitcher with two shutouts on the books.

Southern League
Julio Teheran, Mississippi
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 14 K
After giving up five runs over 4 2/3 innings in his Double-A debut, Braves prospect Julio Teheran hit his stride with two dazzling outings this week. The 19-year-old right-hander struck out seven over 5 2/3 no-hit innings against the Mobile BayBears on Monday, walking three and picking up his first Double-A win. In Birmingham on Saturday, he struck out six over the first three innings, giving up three hits and a walk while twirling six shutout frames. This is still Teheran's first full season, and he started the year in the Sally League.

Texas League
Simon Castro, San Antonio
2-0, 0.82 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 10 K
Simon Castro continued to roll in his first Double-A campaign, lowering his ERA to 2.90, which is fourth best in the Texas League. He beat the RoughRiders twice this week, in Frisco on Monday and in San Antonio on Saturday. In Monday's game, Castro settled in after a first-inning home run, throwing five innings and striking out three and walking one without allowing another run to score. On Saturday, he gave up five singles and struck out seven over six scoreless innings. A six-run bottom of the sixth proved more than enough to secure the win for Castro.

California League
Joseph Wieland, Bakersfield
1-0, 0.90 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 10 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 20 K
Rangers prospect Joseph Wieland stacked up 14 strikeouts without issuing a walk against Visalia on Monday, surrendering four hits over seven shutout innings. Working out of the bullpen against San Jose on Sunday, he entered in the sixth and struck out the side. He pitched three innings in that game, fanning six while allowing a run on four hits and a walk. Wieland is just 20 years old, and he's worked his Cal League ERA down to 6.28 in the seven appearances he made since getting roughed up for seven runs in 5 2/3 innings in his Class A Advanced debut on July 1.

Carolina League
Miguel Gonzalez, Salem
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 0 BB, 9 K
Miguel Gonzalez follows Michael Lee to become the second straight Salem hurler to take home the Carolina Pitcher of the Week award. Gonzalez enjoyed his longest and best start of the season this week, earning a win in Frederick on Tuesday. The Red Sox prospect struck out the side in the first and brought a no-hitter into the sixth. A double, a fielding error and a single in the seventh ended Gonzalez's day, but he finished with a nice line: an unearned run on three hits, no walks and nine strikeouts.

Florida State League
Adam Wilk, Lakeland
2-0, 0.60 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 15 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 10 K
Left-handed Tigers prospect Adam Wilk, pitching in his first full pro season, improved to 9-4 with a 2.99 ERA this week. He struck out five over seven innings in St. Lucie on Monday, allowing a run on four hits. On Saturday, he was even stingier. Pitching in Charlotte, he beat the Stone Crabs with eight shutout innings, allowing six hits and picking up five more strikeouts. Wilk hasn't lost since June 22, and he hasn't issued a free pass since July 28.

Midwest League
Tom Wilhelmsen, Clinton
2-0, 0.69 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 12 K
Tom Wilhelmsen, playing in his first two games above the Northwest League since retiring in 2005, showed no signs of rust. The Brewers' seventh-round pick in '03, Wilhelmsen has put his off-the-field trouble behind him to sign with the Mariners. He allowed two hits and gave up a walk while striking out five over seven shutout innings against Wisconsin in his 2010 Midwest League debut Monday. Facing the Timber Rattlers again Saturday, he struck out seven and gave up three runs -- one earned -- on four hits and three walks over six innings.

South Atlantic League
Tyler Matzek, Asheville
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 5 BB, 7 K
Colorado's first-rounder from last year, 19-year-old Tyler Matzek put together his best pro start this week. Pitching in Augusta on Saturday, Matzek walked the first two batters he faced and then settled in to toss six no-hit, shutout innings. He'd walk three more before his day ended -- including the first two batters in the second inning -- but he also collected seven strikeouts and was perfect from the fourth through the sixth. The Tourists were unable to maintain the shutout, not to mention the no-hitter, but Matzek did earn his fifth win.

New York-Penn League
Miguel Celestino, Lowell
2-0, 0.82 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 11 K
Miguel Celestino, playing in just his second Stateside season and first above the Gulf Coast League, picked up his first two New York-Penn League victories this week. On Monday, the Boston prospect took a no-hitter against the Connecticut Tigers into the fifth inning, allowing one walk and a lone single while striking out six over six innings. The Auburn Doubledays got to him for two runs -- one earned -- over five innings Saturday. Celestino struck out five and allowed three hits and three walks that time out.

Northwest League
Matthew Thomson, Vancouver
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 10 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 15 K
Matthew Thomson remains winless as a pro, but he can't be blamed for his 0-2 record; the A's pick from the 12th round of this year's Draft has allowed a total of two runs, one of which was unearned, since making his first start on July 8. Thomson collected 10 strikeouts in handcuffing the AquaSox over five innings Tuesday. Three of his punchouts came in the third inning, but two of his victims reached first when the ball got away from backstop Ryan Lipkin, and he struck out three more in the fourth. He allowed four hits and refused to issue a free pass. On Sunday, he allowed the aforementioned unearned run while striking out five and giving up three hits and a pair of walks against the Tri-Cities Dust Devils.

Appalachian League
Crawford Simmons, Burlington
2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14 2/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 3 BB, 15 K
Crawford Simmons, a 14th-round pick of the Royals from the 2009 Draft, was coming off his worst pro start (four runs on seven hits without getting out of the fourth inning) when he took the mound against the White Sox in Bristol on Monday. He gave up a first-inning single and a fourth-inning double but was in control otherwise, striking out 11 and walking one over 7 2/3 shutout innings. He stayed hot with another dominant start Sunday. He shut down the Danville Braves by allowing only a double in the first, a single in the third and a pair of walks while collecting four more strikeouts over the course of seven more scoreless innings.

Pioneer League
Evan Frederickson, Helena
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 12 K
Former first-rounder Evan Frederickson got pushed around in the Florida State League this spring, ending up with an 8.22 ERA in 12 appearances. If the Brewers wanted him to rebuild his confidence in the Pioneer League, this week's start against Billings should go a long way in meeting that goal. He had a perfect game until he walked a batter in the fourth, and he walked another in the sixth. But Frederickson didn't allow a hit over the course of his six innings, and he racked up 12 strikeouts along the way. The southpaw missed out on the win, though; his bullpen kept the no-hitter until the Mustangs won the game on a walk-off single in the ninth.