Matt Shoemaker, aka Shoebacca, just locked down the most wins ever by an Angels Wookie rookie at 15. Shoemaker is the dude that went un-drafted and ended up being scouted out of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League by the Los Angeles Angels. At 27 years old, Shoemaker is a rookie and only making league minimum despite a run at a Cy Young award (especially if you look at post All Star stats) and a run at rookie of the year were it not for the likes of Jose Abreu, and all the while only making league minimum. Talk about a bargain!
Shoemaker has been playing in the minors since 2008 with average numbers. His minors career ERA is 4.52, WHIP 1.356, 7.4 SO/9, 2 shutouts, and a 50-40 record. Shoemaker made the Angels 25 man roster out of Spring Training as a long bullpen arm – not a starter. He has even pitched 25 innings for Salt Lake this season. He didn’t start any games until May and even in June he pitched a few games out of the bullpen.
His 2014 numbers are pretty much spectacular. He is only one win behind having the most wins of any AL pitcher (Jered Weaver & Max Scherzer), and that has been accomplished with about 5-6 weeks less of starting time. Shoemaker’s ERA is 3.16, WHIP is 1.088, SO9 is 8.3, BAA is .239, and he has a 1.9 WAR. On top of all that he boasts a 15-4 record.
Shoemaker keeps getting better and since the All Star Break he ranks 5th in BAA (.203), 3rd in ERA (1.95 -ahead of Sale and Hernandez), 1st in WHIP (0.87)and 1st in wins (8).
In August, Shoemaker won pitcher of the month and rookie of the month. It’s pretty clear that Shoemaker is one of the top pitchers of the entire second half of the season. He’s at least in the top 3.
Shoebacca has about 3 remaining starts in the 2014 season. It will definitely be fun to watch and see what he does with them!
