Auburn ace Casey Mize named Midseason Pitcher of the Year

As Casey Mize mounts his case to be the top pick in this summer's MLB Draft, the Auburn ace added another line to his resume.

Following a dominant first half of the season, Mize was named the Midseason Pitcher of the Year by Perfect Game/Rawlings on Wednesday afternoon.

The junior right-hander has been lights out this season while heading Auburn's weekend rotation. In seven starts, Mize has gone 6-0 with a 2.11 ERA while helping the Tigers to a 23-7 start and top-15 national ranking.

Mize, who led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio as a sophomore, is again No. 1 in the country in that category while striking out an SEC-best 70 and walking just three so far this season. His 70 strikeouts are sixth-most in the country and 12 more than any other pitcher in the SEC this year. Mize also leads the nation with a 0.60 WHIP.

Mize's crowning achievement this season, however, came on March 9, when he hurled a 13-strikeout no-hitter against Northeastern at Plainsman Park. It was the program's first no-hitter since 2002 and the first of Mize's career.

A feature on every preseason All-America list, Mize has twice been named the SEC Pitcher of the Week this season and earned one National Pitcher of the Week honor following his no-hitter.

Mize will take the mound again Friday when Auburn opens on the road against No. 9 Arkansas.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

from Auburn Sports Impact http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2018/04/casey_mize_midseason_poty.html