Down on the Farm: Kenny Faulk

The Detroit Tigers selected  southpaw reliever Kenny Faulk in the 16th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Kennesaw State University. As a senior he earned All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors after going 7-4 with a 3.16 ERA. In 42 2/3 innings of work Faulk racked up 56 strikeouts.

After signing in 2009, Faulk reported to the Oneonta Tigers of the New York-Pennsylvania League. Faulk accumulated 2 wins with an ERA of 2.83 and racked up 28 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. He was also named to the NYP Mid-Season All-Star team that season.

In 2010, Faulk was 5-4 with 12 saves, a 2.16 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings at Low-A West Michigan. He did not allow a homerun the entire season and did not allow a run from July through September.

This season Kenny has been the closer for the Advanced-A Lakeland Flying Tigers. In 8 2/3 innings he has posted a 1-0 record with a 1.04 ERA. Faulk has racked up 15 strikeouts and has walked just one batter so far this season. He tends to challenge the opposition instead of pecking around the strike zone and has scattered ten hits this season. However, Kenny appears to have no fear on the mound and his results have backed that up.

Kenny has been a pleasant surprise to me this season. He continues to post solid numbers and is quickly climbing on my short list of pitching prospects. The 23 year-old southpaw keeps the ball in the park and continues to post a respectable strikeout ratio. Although he has only a small sample size of data under his belt this season he appears to be addressing his walk ratio-which is great news. After-all, having a surplus of left handed relief pitching prospects is never a bad thing.

Keep an eye on Kenny Faulk as he continues to earn his stripes down on the farm.

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