Pitchers of the Week

International League
Matt Moore, Durham
2-0, 1.54 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 2/3 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 19 K
MLB.com's top pitching prospect, Moore has been even better in four Triple-A starts than he was with Double-A Montgomery earlier this season. Having led the Minors in strikeouts the past two seasons, he ranks second this year, five behind Modesto's Edwar Cabrera, who has pitched 11 2/3 innings more. This week he notched his second and third IL victories in as many starts. In 24 2/3 Triple-A frames, the 22-year-old left-hander has allowed three runs on 14 hits while fanning 39.

Pacific Coast League
Brandon Dickson, Memphis
1-0, 1.80 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 15.0 IP, 13 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 7 K
After being roughed up for a 7.36 ERA in four July starts, the 6-foot-5 right-hander stifled visiting Iowa on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits over seven frames. In the thin air of Colorado Springs on Sunday, Dickson gave up two runs while scattering 10 hits -- one double and nine singles -- over a season-high eight innings.

Eastern League
Austin Adams, Akron
2-0, 2.31 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 2/3 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 12 K
Something seems to have happened to Adams, a 25-year-old right-hander out of Faulkner (Ala.) University, at the Eastern League All-Star Game. He pitched a scoreless fifth inning in the West's 8-3 victory and has won all four of his starts for the Aeros since then. This week he fanned seven over five innings in Akron's 3-2 win at Trenton on Tuesday, then held visiting New Britain to two runs over 6 2/3 frames in the Aeros' 10-2 rout on Sunday. He ranks ninth in the EL in strikeouts and has surrendered just four home runs in 111 innings.

Southern League
James Paxton, Jackson
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 10 K
The left-handed Paxton has been a force in his rookie season. A fourth-round pick out of Kentucky in 2010, Paxton posted double-digit strikeouts in three of his first 10 professional starts with Class A Clinton, including a 13-K performance against Quad Cities on June 16. After jumping straight to Double-A at the end of June, the Canadian has done it twice more in six outings for the Generals, capped by Saturday's win at Birmingham in which he fanned 10 over 6 2/3 shutout frames.

Texas League
Eddie McKiernan, Arkansas
2-0, 1.10 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 16 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 15 K
After working as a reliever in his first four pro seasons, McKiernan has made 15 starts for the Travelers this year. None have been more impressive than the last two. The California native worked a (then) career-high 7 1/3 innings against Tulsa on Monday, allowing one run on four hits while fanning a career-best eight batters. McKiernan was even better Saturday, when he tossed his first nine-inning complete game, yielding one run on a pair of hits at Northwest Arkansas.

California League
Nick Schmidt, Lake Elsinore
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 8 K
Schmidt, the 23rd overall pick in the 2007 Draft, has been plagued by injuries in his career. He missed the entire 2008 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and began 2011 on the disabled list before joining the Storm in early July. The southpaw has been sharp, posting a 2.10 ERA and .207 average against, capped by Wednesday's outing at Bakersfield. Schmidt went a career-high eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and fanning eight -- his highest strikeout total since setting down nine for Class A Fort Wayne on June 10, 2009.

Carolina League
Miguel De Los Santos, Myrtle Beach
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 10 K
After walking the first two batters of the Pelicans game against visiting Potomac on Saturday, the 23-year-old De Los Santos retired the next 21 batters in a row. The Dominican left-hander fanned 10 and allowed just two balls to leave the infield. (The Pelicans fell two outs shy of their first nine-inning no-hitter when reliever Zach Osborne surrendered a one-out single in the ninth.) De Los Santos has struck out 51 in 36 2/3 innings for Myrtle Beach while holding Carolina League hitters to a .160 average in eight appearances.

Florida State League
Arquimedes Nieto, Palm Beach
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 4 K
The 22-year-old Nieto spent much of the first half of the season on the disabled list and has only recently regained the form that made him the FSL Pitcher of the Week for July 19 of last year. At Daytona on July 23, he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning. This Thursday at Charlotte, the Panamanian right-hander allowed a leadoff hit in the first -- and nothing else over seven shutout frames. Nieto has given up six hits in his past 20 2/3 innings.

Midwest League
Stephen Kohlscheen, Clinton
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 6 K
Kohlscheen, a 45th-round pick out of Auburn in 2010, worked primarily as a reliever for Clinton during the first two months of the season, then was transferred to Class-A Short-Season Everett to transition into starting. After posting a 3.03 ERA in nine games with the AquaSox, the 6-foot-6 right-hander made a statement in his return to the Midwest League, allowing three hits while fanning six over six scoreless frames.

South Atlantic League
Carlos Quevedo, Lexington
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 7 K
Quevedo notched his first win since July 5 with seven scoreless innings against visiting Kannapolis on Wednesday. He scattered six hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter. The 21-year-old Venezuelan right-hander has walked just 12 batters in 124 2/3 innings this season and has not given up an earned run in his last 13 1/3. He's posted a 2.66 ERA in eight second-half starts.

New York-Penn League
Will Roberts, Mahoning Valley
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 4 K
The Indians' fifth-round pick in this year's Draft, Roberts had the finest outing of his five-game career Thursday when he held first-place Staten Island to one hit over six scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out four and did not walk a batter as the Scrappers held the league's top hitting team to four singles in a 4-0 shutout. The win was Roberts' first as a pro, and the performance lowered his ERA to 2.18 over 20 2/3 innings.

Northwest League
Tyler Gagnon, Tri-City
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 7 K
This name may sound familiar to regular readers -- it's Gagnon's second Pitcher of the Week award in as many weeks. After allowing three hits over seven shutout innings at Eugene on Saturday, the 22-year-old right-hander has allowed one run (on 13 hits) in his last 31 2/3 innings -- and none at all in his last 19. Gagnon ranks third in the league in strikeouts and fourth in ERA.

Appalachian League
Matt Ridings, Burlington
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 7 K
Ridings has been tough to hit all season -- he's held Appy League hitters to a .213 average -- but never more so than against visiting Pulaski on Thursday. The Tennessee-born right-hander allowed three hits over six scoreless frames as the Royals outlasted the Mariners, 10-7. He fanned seven and did not walk a batter. Both his six innings and seven strikeouts matched personal bests in Ridings' nine-game career.

Pioneer League
Raul Fernandez, Casper
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 7 K
Fernandez's first season in the States has been rough. He entered Wednesday's game against first-half South Division champion Ogden with a 9.00 ERA and having allowed 56 hits -- 10 of them homers -- in 35 innings. In his previous outing on July 29, he had walked seven over 4 2/3 frames. But it all came together for the 21-year-old right-hander Wednesday when he fanned seven over six one-hit shutout innings as the Ghosts blanked the Raptors, 7-0. The six innings pitched, seven strikeouts and zero runs allowed were all season bests for Fernandez, who is not alone with his second-half renaissance: having gone a league-worst 11-27 in the first half, Casper is in first place at 7-1 in the second.