Monday, March 14, 2011

WILY MO PENA AND ERICK ALMONTE STAY HOT IN MAJOR LEAGUE CAMPS WHILE TOTAL COUNT OF ATLANTIC LEAGUERS INCREASES TO 24

A great many cuts have been made in major league spring training rosters already, but not a single one (unless we missed something) has involved any of the 15 former Atlantic League players with hopes of making opening day rosters.

Meanwhile, two more onetime Atlantic Leaguers players have appeared in major league spring training games, jumping that already impressive count to at least 24. Nine of the 24 have been brought up for a game or two from minor league camps.

The two most recent additions are position players. Shortstop Ed Rogers (Bridgeport), who had a very good spring with Arizona one year ago before going back to Reno (Triple-A) where he was highly regarded both on the diamond and in the clubhouse, made a one-game appearance with the Diamondbacks.

Third baseman Mike Costanzo (Camden) made an appearance with Cincinnati.

PENA, ALMONTE KEEP UP BLISTERING PACE

Wily Mo Pena, the veteran first baseman-outfielder trying to get back to the majors where he prospered for a time, is making decision-makers in Arizona take notice.

The big guy, who spent the early part of last season at Bridgeport, dropped below.400when he failed to get a hit as a pinch hitter Sunday, but still is at .393 for the 13Cactus League games he has been in with 11 hits in 28 at-bats, including three homers and six runs batted in.

Erick Almonte's bid to get back to the majors for the first time since 2003 (New York Yankees) as a pinch hitter and utilityman with Milwaukee is still going strong. The onetime Long Island infielder is making the Atlantic League look good by hitting .436 (17-for-39) with the Brewers. He leads the team in both hits and at-bats, and has three homers and has driven in nine runs.

We plan a rundown on all of the key bids by former Atlantic League players to land major league jobs in this Thursday's Independent Baseball Insider column. Subscriptions are available elsewhere on this blog.

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Saturday, March 5, 2011

ATLANTIC LEAGUE NOW HAS 20 PLAYERS INVOLVED IN MAJOR LEAGUE CAMPS; DUCKS' ALMONTE GETTING LONG LOOK

The Atlantic League should be popping buttons of pride with at least 20 of its former players wearing major league uniforms in spring training, if only for a day.

The league had 15 players on our original list of those due in camps which we covered in a recent Independent Baseball Insider column, including 11 non-roster invitees, but at least five more have gotten a pass of one day or more to join baseball's top echelon. All of Independent Baseball can claim at least 56 of its former players in big league camps, either as 40-man roster players, invitees or up from minor league camp for a day.

The latest pair of Atlantic Leaguers to appear in exhibition games are batting 1.000, too, with Corey Smith, who played third base when Newark won the '07 championship, getting a two-run double for the Los Angeles Dodgers and veteran major leaguer Jason Lane, who was at Southern Maryland for a time last season, collecting a run-scoring single for Toronto.

DUCKS' ALMONTE LEADS BREWERS IN AT BATS

Erick Almonte seems to be getting a very solid look early in the Cactus League season with Milwaukee, most likely because of his .320 batting average (two homers, 38 RBI in 325 at-bats) last season in Nashville (Triple-A). The 2006 Long Island Ducks star (.302-9-77 plus 24 doubles and 16 steals in 111 games) is primarily playing first base or being used as a designated hitter instead of his earlier days as a shortstop, and leads all Brewers with 15 at-bats in five appearances.

He is limping with only two hits (.133), but one of those was a home run in Thursday's 11-9 win over Oakland. The 33-year-old went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Another former Atlantic Leaguer, catcher Mike Rivera (Atlantic City), also homered in his two times at bat for the Brew Crew.

Almonte likely is somewhat of a long shot, but what a story it would be since his career includes more than 1,200 minor league games, time in Japan and only 39 major league contests, all of those back in 2001 and 2003 with the New York Yankees.

POSITION PLAYERS AWAITING NEW OPPORTUNITIES

A couple of days ago we listed the pitchers with Atlantic League playing time who were with major league organizations at the end of last season and are believed to be without jobs (some may have chosen to retire) at this time. Today it is the position players in similar situations:

CATCHERS: None.
INFIELDERS: 1B Jason Botts, Christian Colonel, Fernando Cortez, Keoni DeRenne, Ramon Nivar, Gabe Suarez.
OUTFIELDERS: Cory Aldridge, Charlton Jimerson, Jacque Jones (likely retired), Val Majewski, Andres Perez, Michael Ryan, Matt Watson.

We welcome clarifications from this list to RWirz@aol.com.

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Thursday, March 3, 2011

ANOTHER TRIO OF ATLANTIC LEAGUERS GET INTO MAJOR LEAGUE SPRING GAMES WHILE NEARLY A DOZEN HURLERS AWAIT NEW OPPORTUNITIES

It seems unlikely this far into spring training that very few of the former Atlantic League players who had major league organizational jobs at the end of last season and did not get a new contract earlier in the offseason will be asked back for 2011. As a result, the following 11 pitchers appear to be available (unless they have opted to retire):

Jason Anderson, Federico Baez, Steve Bray, Travis Chick, Brendan Donnelly, Derrick Ellison, Ryan Houston, Tom Mastny, Josh Muecke, Oneli Perez and Patrick Ryan.

If anyone has seen that someone on this list has signed either with an organization or an Independent team, I invite you to pass that information along to RWirz@aol.com.

We will have a list of unsigned position players in a day or two.

THREE MORE SHOW UP IN MAJOR LEAGUE SPRING TRAINING GAMES

A heavy portion of today's Independent Baseball Insider column, our subscription newsletter that is weekly from now through September, will be devoted to how former Independent players who are in major league spring training camps are doing.

One of the nuggets we have uncovered includes a trio of onetime Atlantic League players not originally on either 40-man rosters or non-roster invitees who have appeared in at least one major league exhibition game.

They are Baltimore pitchers Alberto Castillo (Newark, Camden, Road Warriors) and Nick Bierbrodt (Bridgeport, Somerset) and New York Mets first baseman-outfielder-designated hitter Valentino Pascucci (Camden). Hurler Brian Sweeney, who trained with Somerset last spring but signed before the regular season started, has appeared with his newest organization, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

More are likely to show up.

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