(WKBW release) Buffalo Bisons manager Wally Backman has named right-hander Matt Harvey as his starting pitcher for season’s first game, Thursday, April 5 in Pawtucket against the Red Sox.
Harvey, 23, is the New York Mets' No. 2-rated prospect by Baseball America. New York’s first-round pick (seventh overall) out of the University of North Carolina in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft is in just his second professional season.
Last season, Harvey combined to go 13-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 26 starts between Single-A St. Lucie of the Florida State League and Double-A Binghamton of the Eastern League. They righty led all Mets minor leaguers with 13 wins and 156 strikeouts. He was a Florida State League All-Star and pitched in the Futures All-Star Game at Chase Field in Arizona where pitched 0.1 innings to earn a save in the game.
The Bisons open the home portion of the 2012 season on Wednesday, April 11 against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees at Coca-Cola Field (2:05 p.m.).
