fun with numbers

Numbers tell us something, though not everything, about a player. When you see that a pitcher has 129 strikeouts in 95 innings as a pro, you’re intrigued. That tells you he has swing-and-miss stuff. Batters have hit just .217 with only four home runs against him. Again, good stuff. Other numbers associated with Demarcus Evans are also telling. The former Petal High star, pitching for Hickory in the low Class A South Atlantic League, has walked 19 batters and hit four others in 22 2/3 innings this season. That tells you he has command issues and at least partially explains his 5.56 ERA. A 25th-round pick by Texas in 2015, right-hander Evans, only 20 years old, goes 6 feet 4, 240 pounds — more numbers to like. He had a 2.95 ERA over two levels of rookie ball in 2016, earning a jump to the SAL. He spent several weeks on the disabled list this season, only returning to Hickory on Wednesday, when he worked a clean inning in relief and notched his 34th punchout. Four of his nine appearances this season have been starts. Obviously, Evans has a long way to go and many more numbers to put up. It could be fun to chart his progress.