In grade school, getting held back was every kid’s worst nightmare. In minor league baseball, the feeling is often mutual. Scouting personnel, like parents, see immature kids that may need a few more years of fundamental instruction.

For starting pitcher Yao-Lin Wang, getting “held back” may turn him into the Rhodes Scholar of baseball.

In his first season with the Class-A Boise Hawks, Wang did nothing more than struggle on the mound. Through four games, Wang carried a 6.43 ERA, allowed 19 hits with nine walks through only 14 innings.

Since arriving in Boise this season Wang is 3-2 with a 2.27 ERA through nine games; best among Hawks starters.

From opening day Wang defined himself as the true “ace” of the Hawks rotation. Save one start against the Vancouver Canadians on the road, he has yet to allow more than two runs.

First-year manager Mark Johnson has limited Wang’s outings to five innings this season, a duration that has proved successful for Wang. In a league so focused around personal instructions, shorter amounts of game-action paired with detailed practices have helped Wang mature immensly as a starting pitcher.

Wang can most likely be seen again on Aug. 3 against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in the second game of their five game series at Memorial Stadium.

ROAD UPDATE:

In a five game series in Everett, WA. the Hawks dropped four of five games after taking two of three against the Indians at Home.

Newly promoted relief pitcher Joseph Zeller currently leads the team in ERA at 1.59 through five games with one win in his second stint with the Hawks. Last season, Zeller was 0-1 with a 6.49 ERA.

Reggie Golden – second selection in the 2010 First-Year Players Draft by the Chicago Cubs – will look to rebound from a six game slump in which he only edged out two hits. Golden has not yet produced the way scouts expected, though his raw talent and potential is still very valuable.