Stifling month of June earns Pelicans hurler Pitcher of the Month honors

The victim of some tough luck to start the 2017 baseball campaign, Myrtle Beach Pelicans pitcher Thomas Hatch was due for a breakthrough.

June proved to be that time for the Oklahoma State product, as he went 3-2 with an ERA of 0.98 and gave up a mere three earned runs in 27 2/3 innings.

For his work, Hatch was named the Chicago Cubs’ Minor League Pitcher of the Month, the honor announced by the club Saturday afternoon.

A month chock full of dominant performances, Hatch’s best came on June 14, during which he gave up six hits in eight innings of work against the Frederick Keys — the longest outing by a Pelicans pitcher since Luis Parra went the the distance in 2014.

In his past eight starts — a span dating back to May 22 — the righty has yielded six earned runs in his last 43 innings, good for a 1.26 ERA. For the season, he is 3-7 with a 3.43 ERA, with 78 strikeouts against 33 walks.

Hatch was the Cubs’ third-round draft pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.

This story was originally published July 8, 2017 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Stifling month of June earns Pelicans hurler Pitcher of the Month honors."