daily fog: getting carried away

(A little late today, but I was flying home from Illinois this morning, so I didn't get a chance to do it.)

It seems that Andrew Carraway is a bit underappreciated.

His freshman year at Virginia, the 6'1 righthander posted a 2.91 ERA. His sophomore year, he went 7-0 with a 3.60 ERA. Then this season, he went 4-3, and though his ERA was a bit high at 4.03, he struck out 87 with just 12 walks in 75.1 innings.

Those are really, really good numbers.

And yet, when the ACC all-conference teams came out this year, Carraway was nowhere to be found. When the draft rolled around, his name was never called. For whatever reason, nobody seems to consider Carraway a top-shelf player.

But people might start taking notice.

Carraway, pitching for Hyannis this summer, turned in another dominant start last night. He went five innings, allowing four hits and no runs. He struck out seven and walked just one. In the process, as Hyannis beat Wareham 4-1, Carraway became just the third pitcher to two wins.

With his first start factored in, Carraway has clearly been the pitching star of the first week. These are his numbers so far: 10.1 IP, 7 H, 0R, 14 K, 1 BB. For a comparison, those look a lot like the numbers you'd see last year in two starts from Aaron Crow.

Of course, Crow raised his stock dramatically and became a first-round pick with his big summer. Since Carraway has been so far off the radar, and since he didn't get drafted at all this year, he doesn't have the profile of someone whose potential rise could take him that high. But this time last year, Crow wasn't that high on draft boards, either.

Elsewhere

• Also of note in the Hyannis win, Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) picked up his fourth save of the year. He has saved all but one of the Mets' wins.
  

• All of a sudden, the juggernaut known as the Cotuit Kettleers find themselves in third place. Last night's 5-3 loss to Harwich, combined with wins by Hyannis and Falmouth moved the Kettleers down two notches.
  

• Auburn's Joe Sanders led the way in Harwich's victory, going 4-for-4 with a double and a home run. Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt), one of the league leaders in RBI, added two more. Starting pitcher Chris Manno (Duke) allowed one run in 5.1 strong innings.
  

• Falmouth won a slugfest with Y-D 11-7. Y-D starter Eddie Burns (Georgia Tech) was perfect through three innings before the Commodores got to him. Joey Wong (Oregon State), who's now hitting .346, went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Greg Miclat (Virginia) had three hits for Y-D to tie teammate Nick Liles (Western Carolina) for the batting average lead. They're both hitting .444. Andy Wilkins, a freshman from Arkansas, had three RBI to bring his league-best total to nine.
  

• Bourne improved to 3-4 with a 6-1 victory over Orleans. Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina) worked five good innings for the Braves, while Kyle Roller and Stephen Batts, both from East Carolina, each had two hits and two RBI.
  

• Chatham got its second win of the season with a 5-4 victory over Brewster. The A's continued with a patchwork pitching staff, this time getting a decent start from Bobby Hernandez (Barry University) and strong relief work from the USC tandem of Kevin Couture and Brad Boxberger. Boxberger, a starter last summer, picked up his second save so he may be taking on the closer's role this year.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Charles Brewer (UCLA) will make his first appearance for Chatham as the A's host Falmouth. Brewer was great last summer and was slated to be one of the big pieces in Chatham's staff this year. With a team ERA of 4.87, they need him.