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Feliz erratic in Triple-A debut
04/11/2009 12:16 AM ET
Neftali Feliz may have looked a little wild in his Triple-A debut, but every time it mattered he proved he was in total control.

The top pitching prospect in the Rangers system and No. 9 on MLB.com's Top 50, Feliz issued six walks and allowed four hits over four shutout innings Friday as the Oklahoma City RedHawks topped the Memphis Redbirds, 4-2.

RedHawks pitching coach Terry Clark said Feliz, who posted a 2.69 ERA between two levels last season, appeared comfortable in his first Pacific Coast League outing.

"He didn't panic, which is good to see," said Clark, a former Major League pitcher. "He kept his head."

Feliz put runners in scoring position in two of his four innings but helped himself by picking off Jon Jay in the third.

"That was all him," said Clark, emphasizing that the call for the pickoff did not come from the bench.

Although six walks may be excessive over four innings, Clark said he is not concerned with the 20-year-old right-hander's control.

"I think maybe he was getting a little excited with two outs sometimes and he was overthrowing a little bit," he added. "Four of his six walks were when he already had two outs."

Feliz, who throws consistently between 94-99 mph, used his fastball and curve effectively.

"He needed to mix in his change much more [though]," Clark said. "He could have done much better with his changeup. He'll work on that his next time out."

Feliz had thrown 86 pitches by the end of the fourth inning and the RedHawks intend to limit him to 90-95 pitches over "his next few starts," Clark noted.

"We just didn't want to send him out for the fifth because, you know, he goes out and throws another 15 or 20 pitches and suddenly he's up over 100. Overall, he was pretty good. He didn't allow any runs to score, that's the main thing. Not too bad for his Triple-A debut."

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.