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FL New Jersey Jackals

Pitching Help Has Arrived

August 10, 2021 - Frontier League (FL)
New Jersey Jackals News Release


There's a new pitcher in town and he could be on the mound as soon as tonight.

And he could be something special.

Ronald Herrera was signed by the Oakland A's when he was a 17-year-old in Maracay, Venezuela. Since then, he's played in the minor leagues with farm teams representing the A's, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.

As a 22-year-old, he made it to The Show - Yankee Stadium - appearing in two games for the Bronx Bombers.

Tonight, he'll be in a New Jersey Jackals uniform...finally. He might even pitch a few innings to get settled in here at Yogi Berra Stadium.

"We've waited a long time for him to get here, but I'm glad he's here," said Jackals manager Brooks Carey.

"He could be a big-impact kind of player, and we've needed that in our starting pitching."

If act, Carey's been waiting for Herrera since New Jersey signed him in the pre-season. Just days before training camp, however, the 25-year-old righthander was working out on his own and he was hit in his pitching hand by a line drive.

The cast came off a month ago, followed by weeks of rehabbing. Carey hoped he'd be here sooner, but understood the pitcher's delay.

"He wasn't going to be here until he was a hundred percent," Carey said. "He says he's ready now. He says he's ready to go."

And not a minute too soon for the Jackals, who have started the second half of the season winning just three of their last 12 games, including two straight wins over the past weekend to break a five-game losing streak.

At the halfway point of the season a few weeks ago, Carey was asked to sum up the team and his answer came immediately:

"We've got to get better starting pitching," he said. "We've had to rely too much on the bullpen every night."

Herrera, who turned 26 on May 3, could be the kind of pitcher to work into a sixth or seventh inning - something that's been a rare sight this year at Yogi Berra Stadium.

As Carey noted, it's been the bullpen that has kept this team afloat: Reece Karalus, 22 appearances, 2.54 ERA; Dylan Brammer, 22 appearances, including two spot starts, 3.05 ERA; Matt Vogel, 25 appearances, 3.09 ERA; Jack Weinberger 22 appearances, 3.80 ERA; and Jason Zgardowski, 26 appearances, including three spot starts, 5.27 ERA.

Tonight's rainout-makeup doubleheader against the Tri-City ValleyCats could be the start of something big. That's what Carey and Jackals fans are hoping for, and it could all begin when Herrera finally takes the mound.

By Carl Barbati, former sports editor of the New Jersey Herald, Daily Record and The Trentonian.

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