WASHINGTON - Georgetown baseball alum Tim Adleman (N'10) just wrapped up his second season in the Cincinnati Reds' organization, pitching for the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the Southern League. Adleman was looking to build off the success he had in 2014 when he pitched between both Single-A and Double-A as a relief pitcher.

During this year's spring training, the Reds moved Adleman back to a starter, the role he played while wearing a Georgetown uniform. Adleman responded well to the move, establishing himself as one of the most dominant pitchers not only for the Blue Wahoos, but in the entire Southern League. He compiled a 9-10 record in 26 regular-season starts with a 2.64 ERA and 113 strikeouts while nearly doubling his career high with 150 innings pitched. Adleman led Pensacola's starters in ERA and ranked second on the pitching staff in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched. He ranked among the top 10 in the entire Southern League in ERA (third), innings pitched (sixth) and strikeouts (ninth).

"I thought I did a pretty good job as far as ERA goes and giving my team a chance to win every single time out," Adleman said from his home in Connecticut. "I thought I could have been a little bit better in the win-loss column, although I know that is not entirely on me, and I could have done a little better job of limiting the walks."

Despite recording a meager 2.03 ERA, Adleman did not pick up his first win until his seventh start of the season. After a loss on June 8 dropped his record to 2-6, despite a 2.33 ERA, he rattled off four-consecutive decisions from June 27 through July 13, lowering his ERA to 1.95. In those four victories, he allowed just three runs in a span of 28 innings. Overall, in 13 of his starts, Adleman pitched at least six innings while giving up two earned runs or less. On August 9, after a stint on the seven-day disabled list, Adleman recorded a career-high eight strikeouts in six innings.

"The people that I spoke with in the organization said that they were pleased with how I threw the ball and held up throughout the season. They said not to worry too much about the last couple of outings. I had done pretty well, they were happy with what they saw and they stressed that I now have a base to work on for the future if I continue to start."

Looking even deeper into the numbers, Adleman was even more impressive. In 87 innings in 2014, Adleman allowed 10 home runs and had a 1.32 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). In 2015, while nearly doubling his innings pitched, Adleman allowed just seven home runs while registering a meager 1.22 WHIP -- the average WHIP of major league pitchers in 2015 was 1.23. Adleman attributes this improvement to a better command of his offspeed pitches.

"As a starter, I was able to get some more repetitions with the offspeed stuff. I've always felt like I had pretty good changeup and breaking ball but sometimes the command of it was a little erratic and these guys are good enough to take advantage of balls that get out over the plate. I think with improved offspeed command and attacking the bottom of the strike zone with a two-seam fastball, I think that really helped limit the number of home runs allowed."

Adleman's efforts on the mound were rewarded when he was selected to the Southern League All-Star Game on June 23, representing the South Division. He got into the game in the fourth inning and pitched a perfect frame with one strikeout.

"It was cool. It was a little bit surprising just because, going into the season, I knew I wasn't a young star prospect or anything like that. A lot of those guys moved up shortly after the break and made their big league teams or finished with their big club in September. It was a cool accomplishment for me to be close to those guys who will probably make an impact in the big leagues for years to come. It was fun."

Along with his individual achievements, Adleman was able to experience some team success as the Blue Wahoos made the postseason for the first time in franchise history. After finishing in last place in the first half of the season, Pensacola rebounded with a strong second half, qualifying for the playoffs as the south division second half champions.

"It was really fun. Pensacola is a great town because of the location. It is right on the water. The stadium is brand new, right on the bay. Being the first team to really have sustained success and then make the playoffs, the atmosphere was great, the crowds were great. It was a really fun time for us to come together, play consistent to winning baseball and have the people of Pensacola come out and support us."

Unfortunately, the Blue Wahoos were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Now that Adleman is home for the offseason, he is already working toward next year with the goal of gaining some added velocity on his fastball and correcting a couple of minor mechanical issues with his delivery. By adding some weight from strength training, he hopes to avoid some late-season fatigue.

"If I can come back, ideally, and sit in the mid-90s, I think I might be able to increase my versatility and be a guy who can start and somebody who they can trust in the middle or late innings if there is an opportunity in the bullpen in Triple-A or even the big leagues."

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Adleman graduated from Georgetown as the all-time leader in career strikeouts with 224. His strikeout totals, plus his low walk numbers (83 in 293.2 career innings) led to Adleman becoming the Baltimore Orioles' 24th round draft pick in 2010.

He enjoyed success to start his professional career, earning a selection to the New York-Penn League All-Star Game in 2010. However, struggles came in 2011 for Adleman at Class-A Delmarva. The Orioles moved him to the bullpen to work on his mechanics, but ended up releasing him before the end of spring training in 2012.

Adleman played for a couple of independent league teams in 2012, posting an impressive 38-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He took part in an offseason throwing program that saw his velocity jump from 88-92 to sitting consistently 93-95 and touching 96 MPH. With the new velocity, Adleman pitched for the New Jersey Jackals of the Canadian-American Association in 2013, recording a stingy 1.46 ERA with 10 saves and 62 strikeouts in 49.1 innings, causing the Reds to take notice.

During the offseason prior to the 2014 campaign, Adleman had a tryout in front of Shawn Pender, a scout for the Reds. Pender was a college teammate of current Georgetown Head Coach Pete Wilk at Rollins College and had served as the head coach of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia from 2005-07. While at Saint Joseph's, Pender recruited Adleman to play for the Hawks, but Adleman ultimately chose the Hoyas. On October 14, 2013, Pender and the Reds signed Adleman to a minor league contract.