Touted ML Prospect Edwin Turner Begins Season 4-0

By KYLE KEOUGH
DOUBLE DAY DAILY

One of the early pitching surprises of season five has come out of Ottawa, in which the Great Lake St.'s rookie Edwin Turner has rocketed out to a 4-0 start.

Considering the 25-year-old's minor league pedigree, the fast start shouldn't come as a total surprise. Through four minor-league seasons, Turner ranked among MiL wins leaders, with a career 59-24 MiL record. A four-year starter in Ottawa's minor league system, Turner has made all-star births in Low A, High A, AA, and AAA.

Now, he appears poised to make an All-Star appearance at the major league level.

Few teams have opened the regular season hotter than Great Lake St., with an 11-5 record and one of the best offenses in the National League. Turner, in long relief, has propped up an otherwise middling pitching effort for Ottawa. Alongside stars like Pedro Beltran and Ralph Bunning, Turner has looked right at home.

If Turner succeeds in the majors, he won't be Ottawa's first MiL-superstar-turned-ML-cornerstone: 1B Jermaine Pierre has been the catalyst for Ottawa's offense with a .343 batting average and 18 RBIs. Pierre, of course, was once famed for being a minor-league prodigy, with a season in which he batted .385 with 66 HR and 197 RBI, splitting duty in Low A and High A.

Ottawa, with three division titles to their name, seem poised to perhaps take the next step and become a legitimate title contender. Players like Edwin Turner will go a long way towards fulfilling such a wish.