Two Blue Rocks Honored For Their On-Field Excellence
WILMINGTON, DE - This month, two current Wilmington Blue Rocks were recognized for their on-field achievements as Alec Mills was named Carolina League Pitcher Of The Month for June and his battery-mate Cam Gallagher was selected to represent the United States at the 2015 Pan-American Games. For Mills, it marked the first time he received the honor since joining the Advanced-A ranks at the beginning of the season. This year will also be the first time Gallagher participates in the Pan-Am Games, which will be held from July 10-26 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mills entered 2015 fresh off a short stint at Low-A Lexington to end his 2014 campaign. Mills was impressive for the Legends, posting a 1.18 ERA in 38 innings pitched, earning his way onto the Advanced-A roster. While he had a few hiccups to start his year, Mills fashioned himself into one of the most reliable hurlers for the Blue Rocks. He now leads a pitching staff that, as a group, is posting a 2.84 ERA, by far the best team-ERA in the CL. Despite being over-shadowed by top-round picks Cody Reed and Eric Skoglund, Mills has managed to standout with his breaking ball command and his penchant for striking out the opposition. His 88 strikeouts are the second-most of any pitcher in the League, just five behind league-leader Mitch Horacek of the Frederick Keys. Despite going 0-1 in his first five outings, Mills is now leading the team in wins (6), strikeouts (88), and ERA (2.20).
The month of June was a special one for the Wilmington right-hander. Mills started June in style with an eight inning, one-run performance in a win over the Carolina Mudcats on the road. At the time it was Mills' longest outing of the season. After allowing three runs in five innings against Frederick in his next outing, he went on a run where he did not allow opposing teams to score for 24 consecutive frames, a season-high for any Rocks' pitcher. Arguably his best outing of the year came against the Keys on June 18, just one day before Wilmington would clinch a first-half CL North crown. Mills worked 8.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out seven in a game the Blue Crew would win 2-0 to bring their magic number, at the time, down to just one game. Mills' great work all season long culminated in a Carolina League All-Star selection. In Rancho Cucamonga, California he entered a game the Carolina League was losing 9-2 in the eighth inning and struck out the only two batters he faced. Mills finished the month of June going 3-0 in five starts with a miniscule 0.99 ERA. He allowed just 25 hits in 36.1 innings and struck out 28 on his way to the honor. What's more impressive is that four of his five June starts were on the road away from the pitcher-friendly Frawley Stadium.
While he did not earn himself All-Star honors this season, Gallagher is another former Carolina League All-Star who had had his time limited in 2015 due to a few minor injuries. Still, Gallagher remains one of the top catching prospects in the Kansas City Royals' organization. Gallagher came into the year as the 28th ranked prospect in the Royals' farm system according to Baseball America. At first, the Rocks' backstop was seen as a power-first prospect, but quickly showed that he is not too shabby with the glove either. Spending the entire 2014 season with Wilmington, Gallagher threw out 40 percent (50-of-125) of attempted base stealers and finished out the year with a .991 fielding percentage. This season he has started to show the powerful bat the Royals thought they had when they drafted Gallagher in the second round of the 2011 draft. He has four homeruns this season, just one shy of his total from 2014. While the base stealing percentages have been down for him this season, another one of Gallagher's strengths has been handling the Wilmington pitching staff. Rocks' pitchers are 23-18 with a 2.88 ERA when Gallagher is behind the plate.
This summer will mark the 17th year for the Pan-American Games, an event consisting of major summer sports that is held once every four years. The Games are exclusive to countries in the Americas. In the past, the Pan-Am Games have drawn over 6,000 competitors from 41 different countries in the western hemisphere. Gallagher will represent the Rocks on a U.S. squad looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to Canada in the gold medal round back in 2011. That team consisted of both former and current Major Leaguers such as Todd Redmond, Drew Smyly, Jordan Danks, Chad Tracy, and Matt Shoemaker. This year will also mark the second straight Games where the U.S. baseball team is represented by a Lancaster, PA native. Pete Andrelczyk, an alumnus of Manheim Township High School where Gallagher was drafted out of, represented the U.S. team in 2011. Andrelczyk was a fifth round pick by the Miami Marlins in 2008. While Gallagher is in Toronto playing for the United States, his roster spot will be held by catcher Luis Villegas who got the call this week from Low-A Lexington.