Pitchers of the Week

Here's a look at the top pitching performers in each league for the week ending Aug. 4:

International League
Yohan Flande, Gwinnett
(2-0, 1.59 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 17 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 13 K)
Flande has done a little bit of everything for the Braves this season, making 16 starts and 10 relief appearances. Since returning to the rotation on July 23, the 27-year-old left-hander has won all three of his outings, including a pair of road victories last week. Flande went the distance at Charlotte last Monday, allowing two earned runs on eight hits, and held Durham -- the league's top team, whom the G-Braves trail by 23 1/2 games -- to one run on three hits over eight strong innings Sunday.

Pacific Coast League
Brad Hand, New Orleans
(2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1HBP, 4 BB, 16 K)
Hand packed two sterling performances into six days last week, tossing five scoreless frames against Colorado Springs on Tuesday and six more against Reno on Sunday. In the latter effort, the 23-year-old southpaw fanned a season-high 11 batters while allowing one hit. A second-round pick in 2008, Hand made 12 starts for the Marlins in 2011, going 1-8 with a 4.20 ERA. Outings like these show Hand is still in the mix along with all the other lefty Marlins prospects fighting to get to Miami.

Eastern League
Edwin Escobar, Richmond
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 6 K)
In the first half of the season, Escobar was one of the top pitchers in the California League. Making the jump to Double-A in mid July, the 21-year-old left-hander has been even better. After tossing seven one-hit innings against New Hampshire on Saturday, Escobar owns a 2.32 ERA and has held Eastern League hitters to a .188 average. Overall, Escobar leads the Giants organization with 124 strikeouts and ranks fourth with a 2.73 season ERA.

Southern League
Archie Bradley, Mobile
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 9 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 7 K)
This marks Bradley's third Pitcher of the Week award of the season -- one in the Cal League, now two in the Southern. The right-hander, who turns 21 this coming Saturday, tossed his first nine-inning complete game Friday, allowing one unearned run on six hits. Though the victory was Bradley's first in a month, the only possible flaw in his game at this point appears to be command: he's walked 44 in 96 Southern League innings, including seven in his July 27 start. Nevertheless, he ranks sixth in the Minor Leagues in strikeouts and owns a 1.88 ERA over 21 total starts this season.

Texas League
Christian Bergman, Tulsa
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 3 BB, 6 K)
It wouldn't be a real Minor League season without Bergman earning Pitcher of the Week honors at some point. The 25-year-old right-hander took home one Northwest League award in 2011 and three Cal League awards last season (as well as being named the circuit's Pitcher of the Year), but this is his first of 2013. Bergman fired his third career shutout at Northwest Arkansas on Friday, allowing three hits and three walks. Though he owns a solid 3.22 ERA and has walked just 21 batters in 22 starts, Bergman has been more susceptible to the long ball this year: he's already given up 21 homers after allowing 20 in his last two seasons combined.

California League
Jonathan Gray, Modesto
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 7 K)
That didn't take long. After a rough pro debut with Grand Junction last month, the 2013 third overall Draft pick was stellar in his first California League outing Friday. Gray allowed just two hits while fanning seven over five shutout frames to earn his first win as a professional. In his brief career, the burly right-hander has fanned 22 and walked two over 18 1/3 innings.

Carolina League
Mike Augliera, Salem
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 4 K)
It's safe to say that Augliera is on a bit of a roll, having now captured his third Pitcher of the Week award in five weeks. After pitching seven two-hit innings against Frederick on July 26, the 23-year-old right-hander went one better Saturday, holding host Lynchburg to one hit over seven frames. A fifth-round pick in 2012, Augliera owns a 3.14 ERA over eight starts since the All-Star break.

Florida State League
Ryan Sherriff, Palm Beach
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 3 K)
After going 10-3 for Palm Beach last year, Sherriff has split time between the FSL and Double-A Springfield this season and been solid at both levels. On Saturday night he went to a higher level on the mound, coming three outs shy of a no-hitter in a one-hit shutout of host Dunedin. The 23-year-old lefty has now allowed just one earned run over his last 26 1/3 innings and owns a 2.08 ERA in the second half of the season.

Midwest League
Dixon Llorens, Peoria
(0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G, 2 SV, 6 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 8 K)
Llorens last allowed a run back on June 14, 16 innings and 10 outings ago. During that stretch, the 21-year-old right-hander has fanned 32 batters while walking three. After three appearances last week, Llorens has 52 strikeouts over 35 innings this season and has held Midwest League hitters to a .192 average.

South Atlantic League
Daniel Stumpf, Lexington
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 5 K)
After tossing a seven-inning no-hitter and earning top pitcher honors for the first week of July, Stumpf is back in the spotlight this week with six one-hit frames at Rome on Thursday. A ninth-round pick in 2012, Stumpf pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for Burlington in the Appalachian League last summer. He's adjusted nicely to a starting role with Lexington and owns a 9-7 record with a 2.86 ERA -- seventh-best in the league.

New York-Penn League
Jamie Callahan, Lowell
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 9 K)
Yet another repeat offender, Callahan takes New York-Penn League honors for the second straight week. On July 26, the Red Sox's second-round pick allowed one hit over six frames while fanning eight; on Wednesday the 18-year-old went one step farther with a career-high nine strikeouts over six perfect innings. The Spinners' gem was ultimately spoiled in the ninth by a player with a name familiar to New England baseball fans: Bucky Dent's son Cody broke up the perfecto with a one-out single in the ninth.

Northwest League
Shane Dawson, Vancouver
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 15 K)
A 17th-round pick out of Lethbridge, Alberta, in 2012, Dawson made a triumphant return to Canada last week, tossing nine scoreless innings for Vancouver, the nation's lone remaining affiliated club. With 15 strikeouts in two Northwest League games, the 19-year-old left-hander has fanned 50 in 36 1/3 innings split between the Canadians and the Appalachian League's Bluefield Blue Jays.

Appalachian League
Brady Dragmire, Bluefield
(1-0, 0.90 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 10 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 1 BB, 10 K)
Dragmire pitched five innings out of the bullpen last Monday and five innings as a starter Sunday. If he was fazed by the difference, it didn't show: the 20-year-old right-hander allowed just one hit per outing while fanning 10 batters total. After 10 games -- four of them starts -- Dragmire owns a 3-1 record with a 1.74 ERA and a .186 average against.

Pioneer League
Zachary Bird, Ogden
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 9 K)
Bird hasn't had an easy season. A ninth-round pick in 2012, the Mississippi native posted a 5.71 ERA in 15 Midwest League games with Great Lakes before being transferred to Ogden, where he had an 8.42 mark in six games heading into Thursday's matchup against Grand Junction. The 19-year-old rebounded with his longest and strongest outing as a pro, allowing six hits over six scoreless innings while fanning a career-high nine. Bird, who began the year as the Dodgers' No. 11 prospect, still has a way to go, but that victory is a strong first step.