Former South Alabama Jaguar P.J. Walters has been named Pitcher of the Year for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, minorleaguebaseball.com announced recently. The website and its contributors reviewed all 30 major league teams and their affiliates to determine who had the best 2007 season.
An 11th-round pick in the 2006 draft, Walters was moved back into the starting rotation this spring after pitching in relief during his debut season. He ended up pitching at three levels, starting at low-Class A Quad City and moving to high-A Palm Beach before finishing at Class-AA Springfield. He posted a 12-6 overall record with a 2.55 ERA over 151.2 innings. He nearly won the organizational pitching triple crown, finishing first in ERA (2.55) and strikeouts (147) while tying for second in wins (12). Opponents at all three levels hit just .228 against him, and he didn't hurt himself with only 33 walks.
Walters earned All-America honors in 2006, being named second team by Baseball America and third team by Collegiate Baseball. He was named the Sun Belt Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year and was a first-team all-league selection after becoming the career strikeout and innings pitched leader at USA.
A listing of Walters' 2007 seasonal statistics:
| QC |
MID |
6 |
1 |
2.62 |
17 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
68.2 |
59 |
25 |
20 |
2 |
12 |
73 |
2.21 |
.229 |
| PBC |
FSL |
3 |
1 |
2.67 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
33.2 |
29 |
10 |
10 |
2 |
6 |
37 |
1.44 |
.225 |
| SPR |
TEX |
3 |
4 |
2.37 |
8 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
49.1 |
42 |
13 |
13 |
4 |
15 |
37 |
1.38 |
.228 |
| Minors |
|
12 |
6 |
2.55 |
30 |
23 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
151.2 |
130 |
48 |
43 |
8 |
33 |
147 |
1.70 |
.228 |
