Pitchers of the Week

Here's a look at the top pitching performers in each league for the week ending June 15:

International League
A.J. Morris, Indianapolis
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 7 K)
Morris, 27, made his Triple-A debut June 7. Five days later he needed just 96 pitches to notch his first professional complete game in a six-hit shutout of visiting Durham. He struck out seven and walked one. The right-handed Morris was a fourth-round pick out of Kansas State by the Nationals and missed the entire 2011 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. After two years in the Cubs organization, he's a combined 6-2 with a 1.54 ERA this season, his first in the Pirates system.
Indy's Morris fans Christian

Pacific Coast League
Ryan Verdugo, Omaha
(2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 15 K)
Verdugo has been a road warrior for the Storm Chasers since joining their rotation in mid-May -- all five of his starts have come away from home. After dropping the first one May 21, he's now won four in a row capped by a pair of brilliant outings in California last week. On Monday the 27-year-old left-hander limited first-place Sacramento to one hit over six scoreless innings. Saturday night the former Giants Draft pick squared off against their Triple-A Fresno affiliate, allowing four hits while fanning nine in 6 2/3 frames. In 17 2/3 innings this month, Verdugo has yielded one run on seven hits.
Omaha's Verdugo notches ninth K

Eastern League
Brian Johnson, Portland
(2-0, 0.75 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 11 K)
Beginning the season with Class A Advanced Salem, Johnson went 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA and twice earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors. The 23-year-old left-hander has been even better since joining Double-A Portland, culminating in a pair of road victories last week. Johnson is now 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA in eight Eastern League starts and has not yielded more than two runs in any of his outings. He's holding EL hitters to a .199 average.
Portland's Johnson fans Lindor

Southern League
Charles Brewer, Mobile
(2-0, 1.50 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 6 BB, 21 K)
Brewer struggled with Triple-A Reno early in the season, posting a 7.28 ERA and walking 20 batters in 47 innings, but he's recovered his stuff in Mobile. On Monday he held first-place Huntsville to one hit over six scoreless innings while fanning a career-high 13. Brewer notched another win Sunday, giving up two runs and striking out eight in six innings against visiting Pensacola. The 26-year-old righty fanned 21 during the week; no one else in the Minors had more than 17 strikeouts.

Texas League
Marco Gonzales, Springfield
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 10 K)
As if the Cardinals didn't have enough great young pitching, Gonzales now owns a 1.77 ERA in 12 starts split evenly between the Florida State League and Double-A Springfield. Friday night he struck out a career-best 10 batters while allowing an unearned run on two hits over six innings. The left-hander, 22, has racked up 42 strikeouts and walked just eight in his first 33 1/3 Double-A frames and is holding Texas League hitters to a .211 average.
Cardinals' Gonzales fans 10th batter

California League
Andrew Kittredge, High Desert
(0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 10 K)
Mavericks Stadium is perhaps the most challenging pitching environment in affiliated baseball, but it didn't seem to help Lake Elsinore when facing Kittredge last week. The 24-year-old Mariners prospect had a pair of scoreless three-inning outings against the visiting Storm, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out 10. Kittredge has allowed 47 hits -- six of them homers -- while striking out 46 in 38 1/3 innings overall for the Mavericks this season.

Carolina League
Christian Binford, Wilmington
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 0 BB, 5 K)
A 30th-round pick in 2011, Binford wasn't supposed to be the big name on a team that contained top Draft picks Bubba Starling and Sean Manaea. But he's been brilliant for the Blue Rocks, capturing his second Pitcher of the Week award this season after limiting Carolina to three hits over six scoreless innings Friday night. The 21-year-old right-hander leads the Carolina League with 79 strikeouts (while walking just 11) and ranks third in ERA at 2.19.

Florida State League
Ryan Demmin, Clearwater
(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)
Demoted from Double-A Reading at the end of May, Demmin has made a persuasive case to return in his two subsequent FSL starts. The undrafted left-hander gave up one run over seven innings in his Clearwater debut June 4, then outdueled Cubs second-round pick Rob Zastryzny last Monday with seven scoreless frames to earn his first FSL win. In his two outings for the Threshers, Demmin has struck out 12 and walked one.

Midwest League
Blake Perry, South Bend
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 6 K)
Perry has been hard to hit all season -- Midwest League hitters are batting just .191 against him in 11 games -- but never more so than last Wednesday, when the 22-year-old right-hander held visiting Lake County hitless for six sparkling innings. Perry has now victimized the Captains twice: back on April 25 he limited them to one hit in 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Wednesday's win was the fourth in as many starts for Perry, who is now 5-2 with a 3.34 ERA on the season.

South Atlantic League
Teddy Stankiewicz, Greenville
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 6 K)
Stankiewicz's first full season has been an up-and-down affair. A second-round pick out of Seminole State by the Red Sox last year, the 20-year-old righty gave up five runs on nine hits over five innings June 6. Five days later he kept Charleston off the board entirely, allowing just two hits over seven scoreless frames to earn his first win since May 5. Stankiewicz hasn't overwhelmed the Sally League -- he has 44 strikeouts in 63 innings -- but after allowing a pair of homers in his first start back April 6, he has yielded none in his last 11 starts.
Greenville's Stankiewicz fans Valera