The Chicago White Sox have released minor league pitcher Terry Doyle in order to allow him to play in Japan this year, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. Doyle will reportedly sign with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, according to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.
Earlier this year, Doyle was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the Rule 5 Draft, but they ultimately returned him to the White Sox during spring training. The 26-year-old appeared in 12 games (11 starts) for Triple-A Charlotte this season, posting a 2.83 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 18 walks over 76.1 innings.
A 37th round pick by the White Sox in the 2008 draft, Doyle has always put up exceptional minor league numbers, but he's never been considered a good prospect. Despite having a 2.92 ERA with 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings over 499 minor league innings, scouts have never really believed that he has big league caliber raw stuff.
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