Okay I admit it, I’m a huge Scott Barlow fan, not only because he, Trevor Oaks and former Dodgers farm hand Chase De Jong led the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (with a lot of help from current Dodgers rookie phenom Cody Bellinger) to the 2015 California League Championship, but also because the right-hander grew up in my hometown of Santa Clarita, California, from where he was drafted by the Dodgers out of Golden Valley High School in the sixth round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

On Wednesday, Barlow had what was arguably the game of his professional career when he struck out 10 Springfield Cardinals in a dominating 10-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri. Three of those Ks came in the bottom of the third inning, when Barlow struck out the side – all looking – on 10 pitches, one more than what would have been an extremely rare immaculate inning. It was the second time that the 24-year-old New London, Connecticut native has fanned 10 batters in a game this season.

Barlow was, as they say, “Lights out” on Wednesday afternoon for the Dodgers Double-A affiliate Tulsa Drillers.
(Photo credit – Jeremy Davis – Th3TruthPhotos)

Barlow’s line on the day was no runs on two hits, with no walks and 10 strikeouts in his 5.0 innings pitched, to collect his fifth win of the season and lower his ERA to an outstanding 2.02.

But wait, there’s more!

Because both teams are affiliates of National League franchises, the pitchers bat. And while some may look at this as a detriment, it was Barlow’s third inning single to left field that got things started for the Drillers.

In addition to his stellar pitching performance on Wednesday afternoon, Barlow also had a key base hit to start the onslaught in the Drillers’ 10-4 win over the Springfield Cardinals.
(Photo credit – Jeremy Davis – Th3TruthPhotos)

It would be negligent not to mention the three home runs hit by Drillers left fielder Jacob Scavuzzo on Wednesday afternoon. Scavuzzo, who was also a huge part of that 2015 Cal League Champion Quakes team, was a 21st-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2012 out of Villa Park High School – a short 37 miles from Dodger Stadium. His three home runs and five runs batted in were more than enough to secure the win for Barlow and the 35th win of the season for the Drillers. It was also the first game of the second half for the Tulsa squad.

It’s hard to argue that Barlow does not deserve a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City, but the simple truth is that even though the Dodgers have tremendous pitching depth in their high minors and is the envy of every MLB team, it also creates a logjam down the line for guys like Barlow, who might very well already be pitching in the major leagues with many other teams. That being said, it’s hard to believe that the extremely polite 6′-3″ / 215-pound hard-throwing right-hander won’t soon see time with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers.

…or perhaps even the Los Angeles Dodgers.