When Rob Harmon was closing games as a sophomore for the pitching-rich Covington Catholic baseball team, he viewed it as a stepping stone to the next level - starting games for the Colonels.

 

"That was always a dream, starting," said Harmon, who earned a high school reputation as a versatile pitcher, capable of performing well in many roles. "The thing I didn't realize at the time was all the different ways I was used would actually be helpful later on."

 

Harmon eventually started and earned all-state honors and the Northern Kentucky Coaches Association Pitcher of the Year award following his junior and senior seasons. He was part of CovCath's best baseball team, the 40-3 Colonels of 2002 who won their first state championship under coach Bill Krumpelbeck and finished No. 18 in USA Today's national baseball poll.

 

Harmon went 13-0 with a 0.76 ERA as a senior that season, then spent four years pitching for two colleges, Ohio University and Arkansas-Little Rock. He was a 33rd-round selection of the Seattle Mariners in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft.

 

Last year, he pitched at every minor-league level, beginning at Single-A Wisconsin before moving to Double-A Everett, where he started 14 times and went 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA in five August starts. The hot stretch earned him a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma where he made a Sept. 2 start last season.

 

As a starter, it seemed there was no turning back.

 

But the CovCath record-holder for career wins, strikeouts and innings pitched hit a rough stretch during his three starts this season as he began the year back at Wisconsin.

 

Rest of Story:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080619/SPT/806190394

Good read, thanks Eta.