Wilmington's Lamb fleeces Hillcats

John Lamb has the word “Southpaw” tattooed in giant letters across the top of his back. So there was no doubt what his career choice would be.

“I didn’t even stay for graduation ceremonies,” said Lamb, a fifth-round draft pick of the Royals in 2008 who is currently the Carolina League’s most dominating pitcher. “I just wanted to get into the system as fast as I could.”

Friday, the Hillcats got a pretty good idea of just how good Lamb is. The left-hander threw five scoreless innings to lead Wilmington to a 5-0 win at City Stadium, capping an 0-6 homestand for the Hillcats.

Lamb, who turns 20 today, threw his fastball, changeup and curve with command, using the change as an out-pitch. His final line wasn’t that impressive — he allowed three hits, walked one and struck out four. But it was the fourth straight start in which Lamb hasn’t allowed an earned run.

Lamb has made 10 starts in the Carolina League since being promoted from Low-A Burlington, facing every team in the circuit at least once. He’s allowed more than one earned run in only one of those, when Winston-Salem “roughed him up” for four earned runs in five innings June 11.

“It hasn’t been easy,” he said. “It’s a battle, and I’m learning every time out.”

Lamb’s career began with a sense of urgency, mostly because an unfortunate accident nearly derailed that career before it started.

Three days before Lamb’s senior season at Laguna Hills High School in California, he left campus to go to lunch. On his way back, Lamb was stopped at a red light when a fellow student rear-ended him at about 45 mph. Lamb braced himself at impact.

“It wasn’t a crazy bad accident, but it was bad enough to push in the back end of my car,” he said. “I don’t know if I smacked my elbow when I braced myself. I didn’t think much about it, but I went to baseball practice later that day and I didn’t feel right at all throwing. Later that night, I couldn’t extend my elbow.

“We had it checked it out and I had a slight fracture. I had to have a cast on for six to eight weeks. I got my cast off with three weeks left in the season, which wasn’t enough time to get a few innings in.”

Lamb was a first-round talent before the injury, but the fact that he didn’t pitch his senior season scared off a number of teams. There was still interest, though. Five weeks before the draft, Lamb began soft-tossing for scouts just so he could show his rehab was on track.

“There were actually scouts showing up to watch me throw 45 feet,” he said.

The Royals took a chance on Lamb in the fifth round, and he signed for $165,000 just before the deadline. He spent the rest of 2008 and the first half of 2009 at Kansas City’s spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz., before making his pro debut for the Appalachian League’s Burlington Royals.

In two rookie-league starts last year, he was 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA, walked 20 in 68 2/3 innings and struck out 71.

The Royals moved him to their Low-A affiliate in Burlington, Iowa, to start this season, and he dominated there, going 2-3 with a 1.58 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 40 innings.

Friday, he improved to 5-2 and lowered his Wilmington ERA to 1.41. He’s struck out 69 in 57 1/3 innings and has racked up nine or more punchouts in four of his 10 CL starts.

“He definitely came out and showed us why his numbers are what they are,” Hillcats manager Pat Kelly said.

The Hillcats managed just four hits, giving scant support to starter Jordan Hotchkiss, who battled for 7 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs.

Lynchburg, on a season-high eight-game losing streak, will head to Winston-Salem to today to face a Dash team that has beaten the Hillcats all nine times they’ve met this season.

The Hillcats will throw spot starter Chase Ware, who will fill in for original starter James Avery, who is set to make a spot start Sunday for Triple-A Louisville.