Emmet Sheehan named Texas League pitcher of the month for May

Dodgers minor league right-hander Emmet Sheehan has been fantastic all season for Double-A Tulsa, and after a nearly spotless May was named Texas League pitcher of the month.

Sheehan was one of four Dodgers minor leaguers honored for their May performances. Triple-A Oklahoma City’s Matt Andriese won Pacific Coast League pitcher of the month, Austin Gauthier won Midwest League player of the month honors in High-A on his way to getting promoted to Tulsa, and Jared Karros of Low-A Rancho Cucamonga won California League pitcher of the month.

Sheehan’s finest game of May was his last appearance of the month, pitching the final six innings on May 28, with nine strikeouts. He allowed a solo home run in his last inning, the only run he allowed in 24⅔ innings over five games all month. During that game Sheehan also batted, drawing a bases-loaded walk thanks in part to a Rickey Henderson-esque crouch.

Sheehan on the season has a sparkling 1.64 ERA and a 33.3-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate. His 83 strikeouts are second-most in the minor leagues, behind only Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, another 23-year-old 2021 draft pick. Abbott made his major league debut in Cincinnati on Monday.

Andriese allowed zero or one run in three of his four May starts, posting a 1.77 ERA in 20⅓ innings with 13 strikeouts and four walks in the offense paradise of the Pacific Coast League. The 33-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in January after pitching the last two years with Yomiyuri in Japan.

Gauthier hit .349/.491/.614 in his final month for Great Lakes, leading the Midwest League in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS (1.105), reaching base in all but one of his 23 games. He hit five home runs and five doubles, drove in 23 runs, scored 22, and walked 25 times. He got promoted to Tulsa on May 29.

The Dodgers drafted Jared Karros, son of Los Angeles Dodgers home run leader Eric Karros, in the 16th round last season. The younger Karros didn’t make his professional debut until this year, so this award comes in only his second month in the minors. The 6’7 Karros had a 1.40 ERA in five games, including four starts during May, striking out 25 (a 35.2-percent K rate) with four walks in 19⅓ innings.