David Sandlin shows glimpse of promise in Sunday start for Greenville
The Greenville Drive are coming off a championship in 2023 and the hangover is real. The days of having a roster featuring Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel have come and gone.
With an almost completely new roster after most moved on to Portland, the Drive have gotten off to a 7-14 start in 2024. Almost every single pitcher on the roster was in Salem or not in the organization last year and the same can be said about the bats. That’s just the way it goes in minor league ball.
David Sandlin is one of the new faces in Greenville after being acquired from the Kansas City Royals for John Schreiber this offseason. The 23-year-old represents much needed starting pitching prospect depth that the team did not have last season.
The first two outings for Greenville didn’t go as smooth as expected for Sandlin, as he allowed six earned runs and gave up six walks in the two starts. He also couldn’t make it out of the third inning in his first start and went four innings in his second.
The Oklahoma product bounced back in his start on Sunday where he faced off against Greensboro. Sandlin threw 4 innings and gave up 2 runs and 4 hits with both runs coming in the first inning of work. After the first, the right hander started to settle in.
Sandlin had 18 swings and misses after having 21 combined in his previous two starts. He also threw 48 strikes (60%), which is the most he has thrown in a start this year. His fastball was sitting at 95 MPH and he held that for the entire start and he even topped out at 98 MPH. His slider was working as an effective secondary pitch as he generated quite a few swings and misses on it. He also showed off his splitter and curveball which are crucial offerings to be able to stick as a starter moving up through the system.
It’s also interesting to note that the team decided to skip Sandlin the last time through the rotation. Before yesterday’s start, his last start on April 16th. It might have been a chance for the Oklahoma native to work on some things and get right before going back out.
The right-hander will most likely be in Greenville to finish the year after making only two starts at the level last season.
“We had identified him early on as someone that we think is on the rise and has the makings of a legitimate starting pitcher,” chief Baseball officer Craig Breslow said on Sandlin. “Loved the stuff, loved the makeup, and we’ve seen the stuff take a pretty significant step forward. Anytime you make these trades, you have to recognize that we’re trading a really talented pitcher over there, and that was difficult. Certainly wasn’t an easy decision. But, like I said, I feel like my job is to do what is best for the organization. And I think this is a chance to do that.”
