Three of Wally Backman’s six pitchers in his starting rotation began 2014 as starters in Binghamton. Jacob deGrom is gone to the big leagues, Rafael Montero is lost to arm injuries and Noah Syndergaard has yet to discover his groove. Props to Backman for not only keeping his Las Vegas 51’s afloat, but for guiding his team to an 8.5 game lead in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific Southern Division standings.

As the season moves forward, Backman will be depending on a steadying hand from left-handed starter Darin Gorski. Gorski, with seven starts in Las Vegas, has been a dependable starting option for Backman as of late with three solid outings in his last four starts. The tall left-hander has only allowed more than two runs in one of those starts striking out 27 while walking only seven.

Gorski’s run of Triple-A success actually started when Backman brought him on in a long relief assignment. Gorski was less than impressive in his first three starts in Vegas before Backman waved him in from the pen. A one run outing in 6.2 innings that night was a confidence booster for the struggling Gorski.

At present, Gorski’s 3.83 ERA over 40 innings of work is the best by almost a full run over any of Backman’s other starting options. Gorski has averaged one strikeout per inning so far of Vegas.

Without the power fastball of other Met pitching prospects, Gorski depends on pinpoint pitch location, pitching savvy and smarts and unshakable poise for his pitching success. A fly ball pitcher, Tradition Field in Las Vegas and the other settings of the Pacific Coast League offer a stiff challenge for Gorski. Although Gorski has surrendered five home run balls in his 40 innings he has met the thin air pitching challenge so far.

(Photo Credit: Pressconnects.com)