The Southern Illinois Miners have announced the signings of pitchers Trent Howard, Zach Cooper and Stewart Brase.
The southpaw Howard comes to the Miners following three seasons with the Baltimore Orioles organization. Originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft from Central Michigan University, Howard owns a career ERA of 3.95 and has pitched in 67 career games. In 257 1/3 total innings he has struck out 204 batters while walking only 73.
He spent the 2013 season with the Frederick Keys, the Orioles’ High-A affiliate in the Carolina League. He appeared in 28 games for the Keys, including 15 starts, with a 3.48 ERA and 72 strikeouts against just 25 walks in 88 innings pitched.
“Trent joins us with a very strong recommendation from former Miners pitching coach Justin Lord, now a coach in the Orioles organization,” Miners manager Mike Pinto said. “He is a command pitcher who has great stuff and a strong approach on the mound. We expect that he will be a important part of our rotation this season.”
Cooper joins the Miners following two seasons competing in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Like Howard, Cooper attended Central Michigan University, and was originally drafted in the 15th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The hard-throwing right-hander, who last pitched for the Single-A Lakewood Blue Claws, has seen action in 56 career games, pitching 82 1/3 innings. In those frames, Cooper has 64 strikeouts against 39 walks and carries a 2.84 career ERA into 2014.
“Zach has had two strong professional seasons and he will build on those here,” Pinto said. “He is a hard thrower and and has a great approach on the mound. “We expect that he will be an important part of our rotation as well.”
Stewart “Stew” Brase joins the Miners following three years in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has appeared in 92 games, finishing 51 of those contests with 10 saves. In 2013, while splitting time between Single-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem, he saw action in 35 games, finishing 24.
In 51 innings, he struck out 59 batters, walked 35 and finished the season with a 2.65 ERA.
“Stew comes to us after two excellent years with the Sox,” Pinto added. “His coordinator with the Sox thought a lot of him and made a strong recommendation. Stew has experience closing out games and we expect he will be in the mix for late in the game situations for us.”
