Rookie Notes: Howard struggles, but others impress

GLENDALE - The AZL Indians finally reached .500 last night in a 7-4 victory over the Dodgers. Let’s run through the game’s cliffnotes:

SP Dillon Howard

Howard was not very good. After a less than stellar 3.1 innings where he allowed four runs on four hits and four walks he was pulled from the game. The 2011 second round pick was throwing his heater right between 88-90 MPH, but really had no feel for the pitch all night. In fact, this season he has struggled commanding his fastball despite throwing at the lower than advertised velocities from his high school days. One scout went as far to say he almost looks more advanced with his offspeed and secondary stuff than his fastball. Howard was getting his curveball over better than anything else he threw last night, namely the fastball, though he flipped a few changeups in the mix. All in all, Howard was unable to comman his fastball at any point last night. Harry Doyle wanted a cameo in last night’s...