Chatwood continues to be 'the one'

Here's a wildly bold prediction. If Tyler Chatwood gives up a hit per outing, he's going to win a lot of baseball games in his professional career.

The teenaged Los Angeles Angels pitching prospect made his second start for the Cedar Rapids Kernels Wednesday night at Memorial Stadium, and it was another good one. Put the emphasis on "one."

Six innings of one-hit ball earned him victory number one, as the Kernels shut out West Michigan, 3-0, before an announced crowd of 634. Staying with the "one" theme, you might remember Chatwood - who joined the team from extended spring training last week - also giving up just one hit over five innings in his first start.

The kid's pretty good. And he's only 19.

"I felt a lot more comfortable this time around," Chatwood said. "I just felt like I threw more strikes than last time out. I still need to cut down on the walks, but this was an improvement."

A 5-foot-11 right-hander, Chatwood reminds some Kernels followers of smallish Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt. He's got the big fastball (low to mid-90s) and the hook to go with it (a true 12-to-6er).

He's raw, with only 38 innings of pro experience coming into the season, all at the Rookie level, and he's got a ton to learn. But you can see why he was a second-round draft pick.

"He's got electric stuff," said Kernels Manager Bill Mosiello. "Obviously his walks are a little high. You don't see many (pitchers) who can walk some guys and still feel pretty good. It's hard for teams to get hits (off him). They don't see the ball well on him. And he's got some good poise for a young kid."

Chatwood was all over the place with his pitches in his first start, walking five guys, but he had more of the plate regularly last night. He still walked four, but those came in two innings: two in the third and two in the sixth. He also struck out four.

The only hit against him was a hard single up the middle in the fifth by cleanup hitter Brian Mounds. West Michigan (13-5) came into the game with a Midwest League-leading .291 batting average. That went down significantly, as Chatwood and relievers Mike Kohn and Vladimir Veras combined for a three-hitter, striking out 12.

"We went over them in the scouting report," Chatwood said. "I was just able to locate my fastball tonight and go off of that."

"Numbers-wise, they're a scary outfit," Mosiello said. "This early, you never know ... But one day at a time, (Chatwood) was good. And coming off the tough losses we've had, it was exciting to get another great (pitching) performance and get a 'W.'"

The Kernels (10-9) rebounded from a four-game sweep at Peoria, improving to 7-1 at home. They're 3-8 on the road.

Alexi Amarista's sacrifice fly gave Cedar Rapids a 1-0 lead in the first, and his RBI triple in the third made it a 2-0 game. Amarista went 3-for-3, boosting his batting average to .344. Even more impressive, the little second baseman (generously listed at 5-7) has struck out once in 61 at-bats.

"We're watching a special little player, and that's pretty neat," Mosiello said. "And he's only a 19-year-old."

The teams play again Thursday night at 6:35.