Mike O’Connor Profile

Courtesy David Smith 

Born in Dallas, lefty, 6′3, 170 lbs, 25 yrs old, George Washington University graduate was picked in the 7th round by the Expos in 2002.  He was a reliever at GW.

In 2002, he pitched in relief at Vermont (Short Season A), went 2-3 with a 3.14 ERA, 48IP, only 25 H, had 27 BB (bit wild) and 66 K!!! Great rate.  He moved up to Savannah (A, full season) in 2003 and went 8-3 with 3.86 ERA in 70IP allowing 56H and 35BB while striking out 83.  Still good K to IP ratio, and still wild with the walks (4.5 per 9 innings).  He moved up to Brevard County (A Advanced, equal to Potomac) in 2004 and transitioned to starting.  He went 8-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 103IP allowing 98H and 42BB, and striking out 104.  He returned to A Advanced in 2005 (Potomac this time) as a SP going 10-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 168IP allowing 144H and 48BB (walks all the way down to 2.6/9IP) while striking out 158. 

John Sickel’s 2006 Prospect Guide had this comment regarding O’Connor:

A year ago at this time, he was a junkball lefty with good control and a decent-but-not-awesome track record in Class A. Now, he’s a junkball lefty with good control with another decent year, a little better than what he’s done before. Problem now is that he is 25, and has yet to face AA hitters. His K/BB and K/IP are reasonably good, but there’s no way to know how/if this will hold up. A lot of scouts are skeptical, but O’Conner has done enough to deserve a look.

Thanks David.