There's also no denying that he made strides in those areas. Though Patterson homered twice in his first six games with Chicago following his callup, a little Triple-A seasoning next year wouldn't hurt. The Brewers expected Sheets to be long gone by the time they made the 10 th overall selection in the 1999 draft. When he wasn't, they snapped him up. He finished 2000 in Triple-A and would have been in Milwaukee if not for his detour to Sydney.
Sheets also throws a hard curveball and a decent changeup.
His command and composure are impeccable. Little did they know Birmingham had saved the best until last. Rauch went 5-1 in eight SL appearances, seven of which were quality starts. Opponents batted just .179 against him, and his last outing before leaving for the Olympics was a two-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts. Like many tall pitchers, Rauch has plenty of velocity.