PHOENIX– Julio Teheran got the start for the World team, but it was fellow Braves pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino who made the bigger impression, albeit a quick one.
Vizcaino lit up radar guns in a six-pitch perfect seventh inning for the World team during a 6-4 loss to the U.S. in Sunday’s Futures Game at Chase Field.
Vizcaino, 20, induced two groundouts around a three-pitch strikeout of Royals outfield prospect Wil Myers, who looked at a third-strike slider.
“Got to attack the [strike zone]right away to avoid any problems,” Vizcaino said through a translator. “That’s what I was able to do.”
He got groundouts by James Darnell (Padres) and Matthew Szczur (Cubs), throwing mostly fastballs that topped out at 98 mph.
"He was impressive," World team manager Luis Gonzalez said.
Teheran gave up a leadoff homer to Indians prospect Jason Kipnis to start the first inning, then retired the next three batters on a flyball, a strikeout and a groundout. He struck out Nationals outfield prospect Bryce Harper on four pitches, including 95-mph fastball on the outside corner that froze him for strike 3 to finish his one inning of work.
Harper, the No. 1-rated prospect by Baseball America, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
The World team used nine pitchers and the U.S. used 10 including Brewers prospect Tyler Thornburg from Sandy Springs, who allowed one hit in a scoreless inning.
Teheran and Vizcaino were ranked fourth and 16th, respectively, in Baseball America's midseason Top 50 prospects list.
Teheran is 9-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 15 starts for Triple-A Gwinnett. Vizcaino is 4-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 16 starts this season in high-Class A and Double-A.
Vizcaino missed part of the 2010 season with a partially torn elbow ligament that didn’t require surgery. “It’s not a problem now, thank God,” he said.
