Thursday, June 23, 2011

PENA, DI FELICE GIVE ATLANTIC LEAGUE 11 IN MAJORS ALREADY THIS SEASON

Wily Mo Pena's promotion this week to be the designated hitter for at least part of Arizona's trek into American League stadiums during this session of interleague play was terrific for 29-year-old Dominican, but it also notches another impressive feat for the Atlantic League.

Pena, who played at Bridgeport last season until his contract was sold to the San Diego organization, became the 11th former Atlantic League player to wear a major league uniform since the season started. That is quite a statement.

Newly-recalled Mark DiFelice (Milwaukee) became No. 10. Stephen Drew and Rene Rivera are the other grads currently in the majors, but Erick Almonte, Robinson Cancel, Tom Cochran, Nelson Figueroa, Jay Gibbons, Mike O'Connor and Mike Rivera also have been there.

It only took Pena two at-bats to blast his 78th career major league home run (his first since 2008), a 441-foot drive at Kansas City. That is his only hit in seven at-bats through two games.

We will cover both Pena and DiFelice in this week's Independent Baseball Insider column, which subscribers will receive later today.

RENE RIVERA SURVIVES

It seems clear that Rene Rivera, who was at Camden as recently as last season, has had some impact with Minnesota because the Twins decided to keep three catchers when Joe Mauer returned from his lengthy stint on the disabled list.

Rivera and Drew Butera pretty much split the catching duties the last several weeks as the Twins started clawing their way up from their horrid start. Neither carries much of a batting average (Rivera is at .180, 11-for-61 with a homer and three RBI), but they did the job defensively and even combined to hit .314 over one 14-game span.

KALA KA'AIHUE DID NOT STAY INACTIVE FOR LONG

Colorado's release of former York and Newark first baseman Kala Ka'aihue did not keep him on the sidelines for long. He signed in the independent American Association with the Kansas City (KS) T-Bones.



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Monday, June 13, 2011

CANCEL STAYS HOT, HOWARD JOINS TORONTO ORGANIZATION AND '10 BATTING CHAMPION RETURNS

Robinson Cancel's latest brief stay in the major leagues did not slow down his bat when it comes to punishing Triple-A pitching.

The 35-year-old backstop, an Atlantic League veteran (Long Island, 2010; Somerset, 2003-04; Road Warriors, 2003) went 5-for-11 (2B, RBI) in his first two games after returning to Houston's top farm club in Oklahoma City. He is now hitting .336 in 32 games for the Redhawks with a .390 on-base percentage. Cancel was 0-for-6 in two games for Houston, where he caught prized rookie Jordan Lyles.

KEVIN HOWARD LEAVES LANCASTER FOR LAS VEGAS

I am anxious to see how Kevin Howard fares in his return to Triple-A after starring both offensively and defensively while playing shortstop at Lancaster. Howard, who turns 30 later this month, was primarily a second baseman and third baseman in his previous stints at the top level of the minor leagues.

"Kevin had a great year," Lancaster Manager Butch Hobson praised in the press release announcing Howard had his contract purchased by Toronto and that he was returning to Las Vegas, where he played for part of both '08 and '09. "He's seeing the ball really well right now and squaring everything up," added Hobson, in what almost seems like an understatement since the University of Miami product had gone 23-for-49 (.469) in his last 13 games for the Barnstormers which elevated him to No. 2 in the Atlantic League batting race at .381.

"He also did an excellent job at shortstop, playing it for the first time," Hobson said.

'10 BATTING CHAMPION RETURNS TO LEAGUE

Last season's batting champion, outfielder Brian Barton, is back in the Atlantic League, joining Southern Maryland. He has gone 3-for-12 in his first four games with two runs batted in.

Barton, who struggled with Bridgeport early last year then caught fire at Newark, was released by Cincinnati, and quickly caught on with the Blue Crabs. He hit a combined .348 in 102 Atlantic League games last season, winning the batting title by nine points.

Lefty Josh Muecke, who made one appearance for Somerset last season, was dropped by Colorado. Both Barton and Muecke had been playing in Triple-A.

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Friday, June 3, 2011

TRACKING MIKE O'CONNOR, ERICK ALMONTE AND OTHER ATLANTIC LEAGUERS

A few notes heading into the weekend after getting this week's Independent Baseball Insider column out to subscribers...

The New York Mets have sent lefty Mike O'Connor (Southern Maryland) back to Triple-A Buffalo even though he had a 2.70 ERA for nine appearances. He took one loss, but also fanned eight in 6.2 innings and gave up only five hits.

Milwaukee has Erick Almonte (Long Island) out on a rehab assignment at Nashville. He was perhaps the major surprise among former Independent players during spring training when he came from nowhere to make the Brewers' Opening Day roster as a utilityman and pinch hitter.

Corey Smith (Newark) is back at Double-A Chattanooga, TN after the Dodgers had moved the hot-hitting third baseman up to Albuquerque for a time. It still would not surprise this corner if he got a major league opportunity because of his bat.

The pace of player sales from Atlantic League teams to major league organizations has really picked up in recent days. Just ask York, which lost its fourth player of the year when reliever Mike DeMark signed with Arizona. Lancaster has lost a trio of players.



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