Mike Minor (baseball)

Mike Minor
Atlanta Braves — No. 36
Pitcher
Born: December 26, 1987 (1987-12-26) (age 23) Chapel Hill, Tennessee
Bats: Right	Throws: Left
MLB debut
August 9, 2010 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics (through August 30, 2011)
Win–loss record	7-4
Earned run average	5.04
Strikeouts	95
Teams
Atlanta Braves (2010-present)

Medal record
Baseball
Competitor for  United States
Pan American Games
Silver	2007 Rio de Janeiro	National team
World University Championship
Gold	2008 Brno	National team

Michael David "Mike" Minor (born December 26, 1987) is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. He was selected 7th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft by the Braves.

Early life

Minor had an outstanding high school career at Forrest School in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and was drafted in the 13th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after his senior season. However, he did not sign, choosing to attend Vanderbilt University.

College career

Minor played at Vanderbilt University with fellow major leaguers Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburgh Pirates and David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Awards/Honors

• 2007 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American
• 2007 Rivals.com Freshman All-American
• 2007 SEC All-Freshman Team
• 2007 SEBaseball.com SEC Freshman of the Year
• 2007 SEBaseball.com Second Team All-SEC
• 2008 Best pitcher Haarlem Baseball Week
• 2009 Louisville Slugger Second Team Pre-season All-American [2]
• 2009 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Second Team Pre-season All-America Team [3]
• 2009 SEC Pitcher of the Week - Week 8

United States National Team

Minor pitched for the United States National Team (Collegiate) in 2007 and 2008.

One highlight of the 2008 season was his earning the 4-1 win over Cuba in the championship game of the Haarlem Baseball Week tournament in The Netherlands. This victory marked the first time in recorded history that a United States Collegiate National Team has defeated the Cuba Olympic Team in a tournament title game. In the 2008 World University Baseball Championship held in Brno, Czech Republic, Minor led Team USA to its third gold medal alongside Stephen Strasburg. In the tournament, he was 1-0 with a 1.15 ERA and 16 strikeouts, allowing 8 hits in 15 2/3 innings for Team USA.

Awards/Honors

• 2008 Baseball America’s Summer Player of the Year

Pro career

Minor was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round (7th overall) in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. ^[1] and represented the United States in the 2010 All-Star Futures Game.

Atlanta Braves

Minor made his major-league debut on August 9th, 2010 against the Houston Astros. He recorded his first strikeout against Chris Johnson. On the night he went 6 innings giving up 5 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) while walking only 1 and striking out 5 batters; he got no decision. In his next start on August 17th, 2010, Minor went 6 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs and got his first major league victory. Then, in his third career start against the Chicago Cubs, Minor went 6 innings giving up 3 earned runs while striking out 12 and earning his second career victory. Those 12 strikeouts set a Atlanta Braves rookie strikeout record in a single game; surpassing Tommy Hanson's 11 strikeouts in 2009. On August 18th 2011 in a game against the Giants, Minor pitched six scoreless innings including facing the minimum number of batters over the last four innings. This victory was the first time in 17 major league starts that Minor did not give up a run. ^[2]

Pitch repertoire

Minor throws a fastball that sits 88-91MPH but can touch up to 95MPH. His best secondary pitch is a slider, that has tight spin and hard bite late in the zone. Also throws a curveball as a show pitch. He throws a change-up as well but needs to improve this pitch to become more effective.

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/chipper-home-run-lifts-1121860.html

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Mike Minor Bio, VUCommodores.com
• Vandy pitching ace Minor now a marked man, Nashville City Paper
• Minor earns second win over Cuba in a week, USABaseball.com
• Minor named to Wallace Watch List, VUCommodores.com
• Vandy's Mike Minor makes pitch to pros, Tennessean

Persondata
Name	Minor, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 26, 1987
Place of birth	Chapel Hill, Tennessee
Date of death
Place of death