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White Sox claim pitcher Surkamp from Giants

The Chicago White Sox claimed left-handed pitcher Eric Surkamp off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Monday.

While Baseball Prospectus projected Surkamp as a back of the rotation starter in 2012 before he had elbow surgery, Scoutingbook.com said the lanky lefthander is “clearly ready for MLB right now.” He doesn’t have a great fastball, but Scoutingbook. come likes his ability to locate his pitches and rated his breaking pitches as a plus.

Here are the career details on Surkamp provided by the White Sox:

Surkamp, 26, combined to go 7-1 with a 2.80 ERA (27 ER/86.2 IP) and 71 strikeouts over 16 starts between Class A San Jose and Class AAA Fresno last season. He limited left-handers to a .219 average (16-73), while righties hit just .208 (48-231).

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Surkamp also made one start with San Francisco on July 23 vs. Cincinnati. He began the season on the disabled list after missing the entire 2012 season following ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow on July 24, 2012.

The Cincinnati, Ohio native made his major-league debut on Aug. 27, 2011 with the Giants. He went 2-2 with a 5.74 ERA (17 ER/26.2 IP) over six starts in his first season in the majors.

His best season came in 2011 when he was 11-4 with a 1.94 ERA (32 ER/148.1 IP) and 178 strikeouts over 24 games (23 starts) with San Jose and Class AA Richmond. He led the Eastern League in ERA (2.02) and WHIP (1.08), ranked second in strikeouts (165) and tied for fifth in wins (10).

Surkamp has gone 33-14 with a 2.84 ERA (153 ER/484.2 IP), four complete games, one shutout and 541 strikeouts in 87 career games (83 starts) over six seasons in the San Francisco organization. He has been named to the EL mid and postseason (2011) and California mid and postseason (2010) All-Star Teams.

In other news, the Toronto Blue Jays claimed infielder Brent Morel off waivers from the White Sox.

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