West Virginia would be a great starting spot for any MLB club looking to fill some spots on its Minor League pitching staffs. The entire Black Bear staff, and other arms around the league, have been performing at a high level with exciting qualities that can provide an impact at the next level.

Former Virginia Tech Hokie Cameron LeJeune has recorded a perfect 0.00 ERA over his first seven appearances and 12 2/3 innings pitched. Striking out 17 against four walks with a compact arm path released from just above his shoulder, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander has done it mainly with a fastball/cutter mix. His fastball has averaged 91.4 mph, peaking at 93 while his cutter arrives in the 86-88 mph range and has held opposing hitters to just a .091 batting average.

Right-hander Ricky Harrison leads the Black Bears with 16 appearances this summer. The 6-foot-2 righty has shown above-average velocity led by a heater that tops at 97 mph. The 23 year-old from Thomas Jefferson University (Pa.) unloads his fastball heavy arsenal (94% usage rate) from a high three-quarter slot that has averaged 94.3 mph this summer. His secondary pitch has been an 83-84 mph that does show good depth when he cuts it just right.

Right-hander Solomon Washington has struck out 29 in 21.2 innings, mainly attacking with a fastball that has touched 95+ and averaged 92.6 mph. The pitch has good carry through the zone and has limited opposing hitters to a .236 batting average and produced a whiff rate of 30.9%. The Z-Whiff (in-zone swing/miss) is even more impressive, at 29.6%. The 24-year-old pitched just 21 1/3 innings for Austin Peay State this past spring, but punched out 32. Washington has a good arm with a deceptive arm action and a promising secondary pitch in a 78-80 mph curve.

Another APSU/West Virginia arm, Jacob Weaver can run his heater up to 94 mph and has averaged 91.1 mph. The 22-year-old, 6-foot-3 right-hander has struck out 17 in 15 innings while posting a 3.45 ERA in his three starts. He can also spin it with a hard, downer curve (75-76 mph) and subtract with a 1800 rpm changeup at 80 mph.

Jason Bollman is now healthy and filling the strike zone with his fastball at a 71.4% clip and an in-zone whiff rate of 21%. The only pitcher in the league this summer to throw a complete game, he did so throwing fewer than 100 pitches. His most recent start, Bollman ended the week going the distance with an eight-inning start with just as many strikeouts. His best pitch has been a low-80s slider that has produced a whiff rate of 45.5% and his 90-93 cutter is also quickly developing into another effective secondary.

Frederick’s Jake Hunter and Davis Smith have been nearly untouchable as of late. Hunter most recently punched out 11 in seven innings while taking a no-hitter through 6.1. His five-pitch-mix has been successful, especially with the distinct shapes and velocities between his 87-89 mph cutter and 80-83 mph slider. He also mixes a two-seamer with a four-seamer of similar velocity (90-93) while landing an occasional 80-82 mph changeup for plenty of empty swings. The 6-foot-4 right-hander has struck out 49 in 39 2/3 innings with a 3-0 record and 2.72 ERA.

Smith has struck out 11 in 9 1/3 innings. The 6-foot-6 right-hander from Georgia Southern powers a lively mid-90s sinker to the plate with 16” of horizontal break. The 24-year-old has also been effective landing his mid-80s slider to his gloveside for a 50% whiff rate and an occasional mid-80s changeup with circle action.

Robert Helt and Grant Manning have toed the rubber with strong performance for Mahoning Valley. The 24-year-old Manning began his Draft League season with three innings of scoreless work and has allowed just two hits in 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts and a 0.79 WHIP. The 6-foot-6 right-hander starts and finishes with an 83-85 mph slider, a pitch that he has thrown two-thirds of the time, and one that has limited batters to a .067 average. His fastball sits 90-92 mph and touches 94-95 with spin into the 2200s and boasts an in-zone whiff rate of 37.5%.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Helt has struck out 28 in 22 innings. He’s landed his 77-80 mph curve 65.2% of the time for strikes, while flashing a low-90s heater. The loose-armed righthander will also mix in some different pitch shapes with a low-80s slider and 85-87 split-finger.

Trenton’s JJ Almeda has been one of the most reliable bullpen arms across the league as he has yet to allow a run in 17 2/3 innings (13 games). With a high-80s/low-90s fastball thrown under 40% of the time, he pairs with a 2600s spinning curveball that’s garnered whiffs 60.7% of the time. He’s gotten strikeouts 30.8% of the time for a total of 27 and has limited free passes with only eight walks.

A first-half returner, Brad Rudis transitioned from the reliever into starter for the Crosscutters in the pro-half and has become an impact arm. The Texas A&M product sits one behind Bollman in second half strikeout leaders with 32 and became the first pitcher this summer to reach 10 strikeouts in one game. The 6-foot right-hander features a side-to-side approach with his sinker, sweeper and changeup mix that has induced chase (32.8%) and limited walks effectively (6) in his 34 innings of work. The sinker gets high arm-side movement with nearly 20” of horizontal break that is complimented by the 16” of glove-side movement by his sweeper.

Featured back in the first half, Carter Holjes has transitioned from bullpen to starter post-draft. In his two starts, the 24-year-old out of Florida Atlantic has seen hitters have slightly more success but has remained to keep his ERA under 1.90 in the second half (1.60 total). Since week three, Holjes has amassed 39 more strikeouts in his last 11 outings. With a fastball, changeup, slider mix the Spike arm has sat low to mid-90s with his fastball before killing spin on his change with 1800 rpms. Overall, Holjes has caused batters to chase 30.6% of the time with a 32.3% whiff rate.

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David Seifert is the current Scouting Director for D1Baseball and the Director of College Scouting for Prep Baseball. Seifert is a former college coach and crosschecker and scout for the Philadelphia Phillies.