Trending Down: Damon Jones, LHP, Lakewood
Jones started off the season matching the great performances of the rest of the Lakewood staff. He didn’t give up more than three earned runs in any of his first fifteen starts of the season.
On June 23 his ERA was a cool 1.86, but it’s more than doubled over his last seven games.
Philadelphia Phillies
In his last four starts, he has given up no fewer than four runs. During his start on July 20, he only lasted one inning and gave up those eight runs, walking four and giving up five hits.
In his 19 starts, he is 7-6 with a 3.82 ERA. He’s been decent through the mid-point of the season and has completely fallen off during his last four starts.
His home/road splits are something else to watch with almost a four-point difference this year. In eight starts at home he carries a 1.84 ERA, but on the road in 11 starts it’s at 5.54 with 22 more earned runs.
Another note is that he’s working as a starter for the first time in his professional career. Last year in Williamsport he solely worked out of the bullpen, going 26 innings over 13 games. This year he’s pitched in nearly four times as many innings.
It’s his first full season as a starter, so he may be suffering from some arm fatigue and will need to get stronger in the offseason. If he can rediscover his success from earlier in the season, he’ll be just fine.