In 2006, the Cyclones ace was Eric Brown and as I’ve mentioned in previous postings, the guy was simply amazing. He had a two-seam fastball that he kept low and considering how good the Cyclones defense was that year, he got ground ball after ground ball and powered his way to a most impressive season.

However, there was another starter on that team that was consistently solid all season and his name was Tobi Stoner. Going 6-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 14 starts, Stoner proved he was much more dependable than most people thought he was going to be. Originally drafted in the 16^th round from Davis and Elkins, a college I had never heard of before and that has only produced five minor leaguers in their history, many people weren’t too high on the kid. Nevertheless, every chance he had to prove people wrong, he was there with a smile on his face.

One thing Stoner had going for him was an extremely outgoing personality. I’ve said before that alongside Jason Jacobs and Dustin Martin, Stoner was probably the other leader on the team and always went out there and gave everything he had. I remember a few times during the season talking to him and he reminded me of the guy from that episode of “Seinfeld” who consistently mentioned himself in the third-person, saying things like “All I can is be the best Tobi Stoner can be,” or “Tobi Stoner is going to go out there and pitch his heart out.” However, on the mound, he ended up looking like another person who converses in the third person, “The Incredible Hulk.”

He also had a little bit of luck on his side as well. About four or five times a season, SNY comes to Keyspan and aside from clogging up the entire press box and pushing us scribes to the corners, they give a lot of these guys the exposure they’ve never had before. In 2006, Stoner pitched three times on SNY if I remember correctly and put him on the radar as someone Mets fans needed to keep an eye out for.

Last season, Stoner went 7-10 with a combined ERA over four, but looked solid at various stages of the season. For a guy like Stoner, who was a fireballer in college and depended on the strikeout to get out of jams, it’s just a matter of him finding other ways of getting players out. With only 59 walks in 223 professional innings pitched as well, Stoner’s control may be too good. He may have to learn to pitch around guys instead of going after everyone all the time.

As the season goes on, we’ll keep an eye out on how he progresses.

All pictures for this article were taken by Conroy Walker.