Justin Cassel is doing his share at Birmingham

One of the reasons the Birmingham Barons are leading the Southern League’s five-team South Division is pitching. Their team earned-run average of 3.40 ranks second in the 10-team league. The Carolina Mudcats lead the league at 3.29.

A key member of the Barons’ starting rotation is Justin Cassel, the Chicago White Sox’s seventh-round pick in the 2006 draft from UC Irvine.

On Monday night, Cassel, a right-hander, defeated West Tennessee, 7-2, to improve his record to 3-2 and lower his ERA to 3.32. He pitched six innings and limited the Diamond Jaxx to three hits and two runs while striking out five.

In all, Cassel has made eight starts. In 43 1/3 innings, he has yielded 38 hits (no home runs) while striking out 29 and walking 17. Opponents are batting .248 against him.

On May 2 he recorded a career-high nine strikeouts in seven scoreless innings while yielding five hits as the Barons defeated the Mobile BayBears, 4-2. The win, which gave him a 2-1 record, was the fourth consecutive start in which he did not give up an earned run, a streak covering 23 1/3 innings.

During the streak, Cassel reduced his ERA to 1.38, which at the time ranked fifth in the league.

In his previous start, a 4-2 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits on April 26, Cassel pitched six shutout innings while limiting the Biscuits to four hits.

For those two performances, he was named the league’s pitcher of the week for the week ending May 4.

“It’s a little bit of luck,” Cassel told MLB.com. “I’m a sinkerballer, so I just try to throw as many strikes as I can and trust my defense. It’s just the game. Sometimes you’ll go out and give up 15 hits and the next day those hits are right to a guy.”

He also credits the guidance he receives from older brother Jack, who pitches for triple-A Round Rock of the Pacific Coast League, for much of his success.

“Jack is also a sinkerballer, so I really feed off of him,” he said. “We talk very often, almost every other day. We talk about our outings; he has been in the Southern League and I think it’s really beneficial to me.”

Jack Cassel, who pitched for Mobile from 2004 to 2006, has also pitched in majors with the San Diego Padres and this season with the Houston Astros. His other brother, Matt, is the backup quarterback for the New England Patriots.

Justin Cassel was roughed up in his next start, on May 7 against Montgomery. The Biscuits won, 16-10. Cassel pitched 4 2/3 innings and yielded eight hits and nine runs – all earned.

As for the May 2 start, Cassel was just as impressed with the fact that he walked only one as he was with scoreless innings and the nine strikeouts.

“My walks have been high [this season]. Some are baseball walks, where you want to pitch around a guy, but some are a lack of focus,” he said. “So if I can cut down on the ones that are a lack of focus …”

Cassel spent last season at Winston-Salem of the Class-A Carolina League. He was 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 10 games (six starts) – 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA as a starter and 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in relief. He was on the disabled list from May 10-Aug. 23 because of a right shoulder strain.

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Cassel isn’t the only Southern League player who comes from an athletic family. There’s also Josh Roenicke, the closer for the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Roenicke, a right-hander who was the Cincinnati Reds’ 10th-round pick in 2006 from UCLA, is the son of former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Gary Roenicke. His uncle is Ron Roenicke, the Angels bench coach and a former outfielder who played eight seasons in the majors.

Roenicke, one of 11 Bruins drafted in 2006, registered his eighth save Tuesday night in the Lookouts’ 6-4 victory over Carolina. He faced four batters, yielding a single while striking out one. His eight saves rank third in the league.

In all, Roenicke he has made 17 appearances and is 4-2 with a 3.63 ERA. In 17 1/3 innings, he has yielded 19 hits while striking out 21 and walking 10.

Last year, Roenicke led all Reds minor league pitchers with 24 saves. He had 16 at Sarasota of the Class-A Florida State League and eight at Chattanooga after being promoted June 21.

He was 2-1 with a 3.25 ERA and 16 saves in 18 opportunities at Sarasota, and 1-1 with an ERA of 0.95 and eight saves in nine chances with the Lookouts.

Roenicke combined to finish 4-2 with a 2.31 ERA in 46 relief appearances. He struck out 56 in 46 2/3 innings. In Baseball America’s 2007 Best Tools issue, he was rated the best reliever in the Florida State League.

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It hasn’t been the best of seasons for right-hander Hector Ambriz of the Mobile BayBears.

Ambriz, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ fifth-round pick in 2006 from UCLA, is 2-4 with a 4.63 ERA. He hasn’t won since April 26, when he beat Mississippi, 7-3, holding the Braves to four hits and a run in five innings.

His best performance of the season was on May 2 against Birmingham. He pitched 6 2/3 innings and limited the Barons to five hits and one run. Unfortunately for Ambriz, the opposing pitcher was Cassel, who shut out the BayBears on five hits over seven innings of a 4-2 victory.

In his last two outings, a 7-3 loss to Huntsville on May 7 and a no decision in a 6-5 loss to Jacksonville Monday night, he has given up 15 hits and eight earned runs in 10 2/3 innings, raising his ERA from 3.97 to 4.63.

Ambriz has made eight starts. In 44 2/3 innings, he has yielded 47 hits, including five homers, while striking out 33 and walking 120. Opponents are batting .284 against him.

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Update dept.:

Ryan Tucker of the Carolina Mudcats, a right-hander from Temple City High who was the 34th overall pick in 2005 by the Florida Marlins, extended his streak without yielding an earned run to 23 2/3 innings before giving one up in the fifth inning against Chattanooga. It cost him as the Lookouts won, 1-0. Tucker is only 2-2, but his 0.97 ERA is the second-best in the league. Opponents are batting .170 against him.

Left-hander Steve Hammond of the Huntsville Stars, the Milwaukee Brewers’ sixth-round pick in 2005 from Long Beach State, is 5-1 and is tied for second in the league in wins with teammate Sam Narron. He leads the league in strikeouts with 55 in 45 2/3 innings and has a 2.99 ERA. He struck out 10 over while yielding four hits in 6 1/3 innings of his last start, a 15-1 win over Tennessee on May 10. Opponents are batting .214 against him.

Minor League Spotlight is a weekly web-exclusive feature that appears Fridays.