Washington Nationals: Austin Voth Ending AFL On Great Note

Yesterday, Washington Nationals prospect Austin Voth threw five shutout innings and was named AFL Pitcher Of The Week

After a rough start to his Arizona Fall League, Washington Nationals pitching prospect Austin Voth had a good final week to say the least. The 24-year-old right-hander threw five shutout innings for the Glendale Desert Dogs as they beat the Surprise Saguaros 1-0 to improve their record to 15-15.

Voth was 0-2 in his first four starts of the AFL season and gave up 17 runs in those games. Over his last three starts, he has not given up a run, has allowed seven combined hits in 15 innings, and has gone 3-0.

Yesterday, Voth was named the Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Week for his shutout performance against the Salt River Rafters on November 9. In an article written by Alexis Ramanjulu of MLB.com, Voth talks about his improvement he’s had recently:

"“The last two weeks have probably been the best two weeks that I have had in the Arizona Fall League,” Voth said. “I have come a long way with my mechanics, just sharpening them and getting better each and every day.” (h/t Ramanjulu, MLB.com)"

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In the Surprise start yesterday, Voth gave up two hits, struck out three, and walked three on 83 pitches (46 strikes). While Voth is getting the job done, he does have 11 walks in his six starts during the AFL season (tied for fourth amongst Glendale pitchers).

This season, at triple-A Syracuse, Voth went 7-9 with a 3.15 ERA in 27 games (25 starts). Two things that stands out about Voth’s numbers last year is the low strikeout rate (7.6 strikeouts per nine innings) and the high walk rate (3.3 walks per nine innings).

If you look at the walk rate specifically, that is a full walk higher than his double-A walk rate in 2015 (2.3). His 57 walks this past season were 19 higher than any other pitcher on the Syracuse Chiefs staff and tied for the fifth most in the entire International League.

The fifth round pick of the Washington Nationals back in 2013 had a good finish to his season this year. In the month of August, Voth was 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in six games (five starts) while holding opponents to a .205 batting average. Plus, he did eat a lot of innings for the Chiefs staff (157 inning – fifth in the International League).

Next: Baker Finishes 3rd In Manager Of Year Voting

Last spring, Voth was invited to spring training in Viera as a non-roster invitee. This year, after a good finish to his AFL season, you would think Voth would have a chance to compete for spot on the 25-man roster this spring in West Palm Beach.

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