By McCabe Magazine reporter Sam "no spell check" Willie
Phoenix, Arizona (McM)- Vic Benitez (P) and Mario Obermueller (1B) of the Arizona Diamond Backs (15-5) were chosen pitcher and player of the week for week 1. Sam "no spell check" Willie of McCabe Magazine went to Arizona to meet these young ball players to find out who are these guys, and to see if they are "one hit wonders, or the real deal." The 22 year old Benitez from Moncion, Dominican is a 6'2 199 lbs season 10 IFA signee. This year he went 5-0 in his first 5 starts, while striking out 24 which earn him pitcher of the week. Last year in his first full season in the Big Leagues Benitez had a record of 7-12 in 35 games (27 starts) with an 3.88 ERA and a WHIP of 1.38. Benitez moved quickly through the farm system once he signed with the D-Backs in season 10. That season he had 28 starts in High A, 29 starts at the AA level in season 11. In season 12 he had one start at AA, and only 2 starts in AAA before being promoted to the big show where he got 27 starts going 11-10 with an ERA of 4.34. Why the big turnaround (5 wins in 5 starts)? Some critics point to the calibred of the opposition, none of which have winning records. Benitez disagrees, he credits his off-season conditioning program and the work he and pitching coach Edgardo Pelaez put in developing his fifth pitch the circle-change. Benitez was asked about his chances of winning the Cy Young and a spot on the All-Star team. Benitez "those are not my goals,. my goal is to win the division, get in the playoffs and make a run for the championship."
Mario Obermueller is another young player on the D-Backs roster. During the week he had a batting average of 402 with 9 home runs and 24 RBIs. The stocky 25 year old 221 lbs first-basemen out of South Dade, High school in Homestead, Florida was a first round draft (3) pick in season 7. He received a $7.2 million bonus which was $600,000 more than the number one overall pick Diego Hernandez who is one of the Bay area Bombers in Oakland (19-1). Since Obermueller's call up in season 11 he has home run totals of 35, 26, and 32. Like Benitez, Obermueller does not want to talk about All-Star games or MVPs, he is eyeing a trip to the playoffs. "Home runs and RBIs are great, but a ring is what we play this game for."
Next up for the Diamond Backs is a six game road trip against the 9-11 Chicago Cubs and 12-8 Detroit Tigers.
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