When the Gwinnett Stripers announced their 2018 rotation, many assumed it would be the best unit in the International League, if not all Triple-A.
That belief has been proved correct through a week. The rotation entered Friday with a 2.05 collective ERA following at least one outing from Mike Soroka, Matt Wisler, Aaron Blair, Kolby Allard and Lucas Sims.
Lefty Max Fried, a newcomer to the group after Blair suffered a shoulder injury Wednesday, surrendered one run over 5-2/3 innings Friday. He was slightly better than Soroka the day before, who pitched 5-2/3 and yielded two runs.
The rotation has allowed seven earned runs across 31-1/3 innings entering Saturday. Opponents are hitting .205 (24-for-119) with 35 strikeouts and 11 walks against Stripers starters through seven games.
Fried became the fifth first-round selection to start for the Stripers in 2018, joining Soroka, Allard, Blair and Sims. Wisler is the only member of the rotation lacking that distinction (seventh round, 2011).
