Pitchers of the Week

International League
Ramon A. Ramirez, Pawtucket
2-0, 1.50 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 12 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 5 K
Pitching in the first game of a Wednesday doubleheader against Lehigh Valley, Ramon A. Ramirez made it into the fourth inning before he relented a hit. He threw five scoreless frames in all, striking out three and allowing just two IronPigs hitters to reach base, one on an error by the shortstop. On Sunday, The Red Sox farmhand put a stop to Buffalo's five-game winning streak by throwing a complete game in the opener of another doubleheader. He scattered seven hits, keeping the Bisons silence until they got to him for two runs with a seventh-inning homer. His good work was enough to grant Ramirez his second win of the week, which was also his second in all of August.

Pacific Coast League
Bobby Cramer, Sacramento
1-1, 0.64 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 15 K
Journeyman southpaw Bobby Cramer, who signed with Oakland out of the Mexican League earlier this month, suffered a tough-luck loss in his first outing of the week. He kept the O-Royals off balance over six frames Monday, allowing Irving Falu to score a third-inning run on an infield groundout and later seeing Falu reach on an error and score again. Cramer piled up eight strikeouts, but the River Cats couldn't overcome the two runs. On Saturday, he left little to chance. Pitching against the Bees in Salt Lake, Cramer twirled eight shutout innings, surrendering just two hits and a walk while fanning seven.

Eastern League
Adam Warren, Trenton
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 15 K
Yankees prospect Adam Warren set a new franchise record with 15 strikeouts in his seven-inning Wednesday start against the Bowie Baysox. He struck out the side four times over his outing, and he fanned five straight from the end of the first to the beginning of the third. Bowie could manage only two hits off the righty, who showed incredibly control by walking just one and hitting one batsman while breaking the strikeout record. Warren, a 2009 fourth-rounder, had previously struck out nine in game, which did more than five innings on July 10 in the Florida State League.

Southern League
Deunte Heath, Birmingham
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 9 K
Deunte Heath has worked exclusively out of the bullpen this season, and the White Sox prospect has done a fine job of it. This week, he stymied Huntsville in two appearances. On Thursday, he used a strikeout and a double play to work around two walks and a hit in the sixth, and he struck out two and got a fly ball in the seventh. On Sunday, he pitched three innings, walking two and giving up a single while striking out six.

Texas League
Erick Abreu, Corpus Christi
2-0, 0.69 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 IP, 13 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 10 K
Erick Abreu, a 27-year-old Astros prospect, beat the Arkansas Travelers twice this week. Throwing on the road on Monday, he gave up seven hits and a walk over six innings but limited the Travs to one run, striking out five along the way. Returning home for a Sunday start, Abreu went seven shutout innings, surrendering six hits and a walk and again fanning five.

California League
Shawn Haviland, Stockton
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 3 BB, 11 K
Shawn Haviland claimed his second Pitcher of the Week award in the month of August, striking out 11 over six innings against the Lancaster JetHawks on Tuesday. The Oakland prospect struck out the side in the first and did it again in the third. After striking out two to start the sixth, Haviland walked a batter, but he was caught stealing during the next at-bat. Haviland allowed just two hits and three walks over the course of his stellar start, and he picked up his first win of the month.

Carolina League
J.J. Hoover, Myrtle Beach
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 8 K
J.J. Hoover, a 10th-round pick of the Braves in the 2008 Draft, was promoted to Double-A after his recent success. In his last Carolina League start, he struck out eight over six shutout innings, limiting Lynchburg to two hits and a walk Monday. After striking out the side in the first, Hoover cruised into the fourth, refusing to allow a base runner until giving up a one-out double that was followed by a single. He got out of the inning unscathed, though, and worked a perfect fifth. In the sixth, he got a ground out, a strikeout, walked a batter and then notched another strikeout.

Florida State League
Dan Merklinger, Brevard County
2-0, 1.13 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 16 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 17 K
Left-handed Milwaukee prospect Dan Merklinger used his two outings this week to win consecutive starts for the first time since 2008. Merklinger gave up a run on four hits over eight innings against Dunedin on Monday, striking out five without walking anybody. On Saturday, he showed his nasty side, this time pitching against the Cubs in Daytona. The Manatees put a 12-spot on the board in the opening frame, perhaps giving Merklinger a confidence boost. He piled up 12 strikeouts over eight innings, once more refusing to issue a free pass.

Midwest League
Kyle Lobstein, Bowling Green
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 7 K
Kyle Lobstein, a 2008 second-round pick of the Rays, beat the Lake County Captains with seven shutout innings Wednesday. After giving up a leadoff double, Lobstein took control. He worked 1-2-3 innings in the second, fifth and seventh, striking out the last two batters he faced in the ballgame. He piled up seven K's and didn't allow a base-on-balls while holding the Captains to four hits, and the victory was Lobstein's first since July 28, five starts ago.

South Atlantic League
Michael Solbach, Charleston
2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 10 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 6 K
Michael Solbach, who's pitching in his first full season of pro ball, followed his best Sally League start with an even better one this week. In the first game, against Hickory on Monday, he gave up three hits and a walk while striking out three over five shutout innings. His next time out, pitching in Greenville on Saturday, he reduced the numbers in both the hits and walks column by one, again fanning three over five scoreless frames. The Yankees prospect erased a second-inning single by inducing a double play, and no Drive runner reached second base during Solbach's tenure.

New York-Penn League
Scott Copeland, Aberdeen
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 6 K
The Orioles' 21st-round choice in this year's Draft, Scott Copeland threw six no-hit innings against Hudson Valley on Thursday, making his second shutout start of the summer. Copeland was perfect aside from a third-inning walk, and he struck out six in the outing. But as has been the case with the righty so far (he's 2-5 with a 3.05 ERA), a win was elusive. The IronBirds bullpen kept the no-hitter into the eighth, but a two-out hit-by-pitch begat a two-run homer, and Aberdeen took until the 10th inning to win.

Northwest League
Cameron Greathouse, Boise
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 8 K
Cameron Greathouse, whom the Cubs grabbed in the eighth round this year, began his Saturday start by retiring eight straight, including the first three on strikes. Pitching against Vancouver, Greathouse struck out eight over six shutout frames. He allowed a third-inning double and sixth-inning walk but otherwise kept the Canadians off the bases. The win came on Greathouse's longest outing as a pro, and he's allowed just two runs -- one earned -- over his last four appearances.

Appalachian League
Gonzalez Germen, Kingsport
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 8 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 8 K
Mets prospect Gonzalez Germen threw eight shutout innings against Burlington on Saturday, which matched his longest outing since coming to the States in 2009. The Dominican-born righty gave up six hits but refused to allow a walk, and he struck out eight. Gonzalez's ERA has steadily decreased since ballooning up to 6.75 with an ugly July 3 outing, and after his latest gem, it's down to a respectable 3.69. He has 54 strikeouts and 11 walks over 61 innings pitched this season.

Pioneer League
Brennon Martin, Idaho Falls
2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 9 IP, 9 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 12 K
Brennon Martin, who signed with the Royals after going unpicked in this year's Draft, hurled nine scoreless innings this week. Pitching in relief against Missoula on Tuesday, Martin struck out six without giving up a walk and scattered five hits over four innings, earning his third Pioneer League win. He picked up his fourth victory with a start against Helena on Saturday. Martin fanned six more in that outing, giving up four hits over five shutout frames.