Los Angeles Dodgers farmhand Justin DeFratus, who plays for Triple-A Oklahoma City, was named the Pacific Coast League Pitch of the Week for games played May 7-13.
DeFratus tossed a complete game shutout against Memphis on May 11, the first nine-inning shutout in the PCL this season. It only took him 89 pitches to do it, recording 12 groundball outs while allowing four hits and striking out three without allowing a walk.
He got off to a good start in the outing, retiring 16 of the first 17 batters faced, and was able to carry that momentum all the way throughout. The shutout was the first by an Oklahoma City pitcher since Jake Buchanan in May of 2014.
This is not the first Pitcher of the Week honor that DeFratus has earned this year, as he won the same award in the Texas League while pitching for Double-A Tulsa in the first week of the season.
DeFratus signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers this past offseason. The 30-year-old was an 11th-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 out of Ventura College.
He got off to a good start with Tulsa before being promoted and has continued that success with Oklahoma City. In two starts for the Drillers, he did not allow an earned run in 11.2 innings.
In his first five starts with Oklahoma City, DeFratus is 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. Overall in seven starts this season between the two levels, he has gone 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA and 1.02 WHIP while striking out 23 and walking seven in 44 innings.
DeFratus has not pitched in the Majors since 2015, but if he continues to pitch at this high of a level he will likely get the call at some point this season.
