Aeros Gomez nabs Pitcher of the Year honors

Aeros starting pitcher Jeanmar Gomez now has another bullet point for his impressive 2009 resume: being named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.

Since the right-hander's perfect game in May is still being talked about, adding a league honor is mere icing on the cake for the standout season by the native of Caracas, VZ.

What makes Gomez's achievements so impressive is that he opened the year at high Class-A Kinston, where he went 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA before joining the Aeros April 29th.

"There are many variables in developing into a Major League starting pitcher, and Jeanmar continues to check them off the list,” Indians Director of Player Development Ross Atkins said in an Aeros press release. “He’s intelligent, he’s durable, he has weapons and he puts his weapons on the plate consistently. Jeanmar has worked hard to put himself into this position and there is still more potential to realize."

Gomez, who signed the Indians as a free agent in 2005, reeled off four consecutive victories in his first four Double-A starts - capped by the first perfect game and individual no-hitter in franchise history May 21st at Trenton.

Overall he is 10-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 21 starts for Akron. He is tied for fourth in the league in wins, ranks third in ERA, second in WHIP (1.24) and is sixth with 105 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings.

Gomez, who is just the second Akron pitcher to win the award (right-hander Adam Miller did it first in 2006), will be honored on the field along with Aeros and Eastern League Manager of the Year Mike Sarbaugh, prior to Friday’s home game against the Erie SeaWolves.

Of course, the pair might have some company, as the league office is expected to announce one more award Friday - the Most Valuable Player - an award that will likely go to Aeros slugging catcher Carlos Santana.