Travels With a Rising Fastball

You could call Todd Stottlemyre a traveling man.

Growing up as the son of former Yankee pitcher Mel Stottlemyre, he spent parts of the year in Yakima, Wash., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Englewood, N.J. Now, at 21, he is himself a pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and the pattern remains the same.

The right-hander was signed as a first-round draft pick in August, 1985, and was sent to the Class-A Ventura County Gulls, where he was expected to spend his entire rookie season. But by June 22, he was leading the California League with a 9-4 record and 2.43 earned-run average. So the Blue Jays moved him up to Knoxville, their Double-A affiliate.

But it appears Stottlemyre, who is 4-1 with a 1.02 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 35 innings at Knoxville, may be ready to pack his bags once again. In his last start against the Birmingham Barrons on Tuesday, he pitched nine innings, giving up one earned run and striking out nine in a 3-2 victory.

Knoxville Manager Larry Hardy believes Stottlemyre may be headed for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. “If he keeps pitching like he did yesterday, he’ll move,” Hardy said Wednesday. “He could have pitched in the big leagues that night.”