(Jacob Resnick/Mets Minors)
Columbia Fireflies starting pitcher Merandy Gonzalez was named the South Atlantic League’s Player of the Month for the Month of April. In earning the honor, Gonzalez became the first ever Firefly to achieve such an honor.
The honors were well deserved as Gonzalez was the most dominant pitcher on any level of baseball. In Gonzalez’s four starts, he was 4-0 without allowing a run. He had terrific control walking just three batters while striking out 23 batters. This also allowed him to go deep into games pitching seven innings or more in three of his four starts. The reason why Gonzalez has pitched that well is because he has worked on his game, and he has become a better pitcher.
As his pitching coach Jonathan Hurst said, “I look at [Merandy] from two years ago when I had him [coaching for the Kingsport Mets] and his work ethic has changed and he has matured so well from back then to now. He concentrates on the little parts of the game and has performed in a big way.” (Sam Hyman, MiLB.com).
As a result, his manager Jose Leger says, “Every time he goes out there on the mound we have a good chance to win.” The Fireflies sure did in April when Gonzalez took the mound.
