Gwinnett rotation looking as dominant as advertised

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).

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