Friday, April 29, 2011

LEFTY HAMPSON REBOUNDS IN METS' SYSTEM AFTER TOUGH 2010 IN ATLANTIC LEAGUE

Lefty Justin Hampson, who split last season between York and Long Island without great success, may be the latest reclamation project out of the Atlantic League.

Pitching in relief for the New York Mets' top farm club in Buffalo, the 30-year-old Hampson has been terrific this season. This is part of what Minor League Baseball's official web site, MiLB.com, reported this week: "Hampson has not allowed an extra-base hit in eight appearances and nine innings of work in 2011. He has nine strikeouts with opponents hitting just .152 off him." Oh yes, he has retired the first batter he has faced in all but one of his appearances, always sweet music to a manager.

The 6-foot-1 hurler has 79 major league appearances on his career record with Colorado and San Diego (5-4, 3.38), but he had only a 4.96 ERA in 11 games for York last season even though his lone decision was a victory and he had one save. Hampson was even worse in four appearances with the Ducks, giving up nine hits in four innings (11.25 ERA). He signed with the Mets February 16, and pitched a hitless inning to collect a save for the parent team in his lone major league spring training game.

Maybe the New York bullpen will be somewhere in his future.

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Friday, April 22, 2011

WE KNEW IT WAS IMPRESSIVE, BUT 38 ATLANTIC LEAGUERS APPEARED IN MAJOR LEAGUE EXHIBITIONS THIS SPRING

Would you like to take a guess on the final count of former Atlantic League players who got into major league exhibition games during spring training?

There were 16 Atlantic Leaguers spread among the 30 camps fulltime, either as 40-man roster players or non-roster invitees. Every one appeared in spring training games.

The count goes up by an astonishing 22 more--38 overall--when all of the players brought up from the minor league camp for at least a day are added into the mix. This total is only of those who actually got their name in a box score because still a few others were on the bench (or in the bullpen) if the manager needed them.

The 38 players is an average of nearly five per team. Impressive!

Here is the list of the minor league visitors who got into the parent team's games, including the team and position with the Atlantic League affiliations in parenthesis:

Arizona: SS Ed Rogers (Bridgeport)
Baltimore: LHP Nick Bierbrodt (Bridgeport and Somerset); LHP Alberto Castillo (Newark, Road Warriors and Camden)
Cincinnati: OF Brian Barton (Newark and Bridgeport); 3B Mike Costanzo (Camden)
Colorado: 1B Jason Botts (Camden); LHP Josh Muecke (Somerset)
Houston: C Robinson Cancel (Long Island, Road Warriors and Somerset)
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3B Corey Smith (Newark)
Milwaukee: INF Anderson Machado (Lancaster); LHP Sam Narron (Camden)
New York Mets: LHP Justin Hampson (York and Long Island); 1B-DH Valentino Pascucci (Camden)
Oakland: RHP Jon Hunton (Somerset and Lancaster)
Philadelphia: RHP Matt Anderson (Bridgeport); RHP Nate Bump (Camden); LHP Derrick Loop (Camden)
San Francisco: OF Justin Christian (Southern Maryland
Seattle: RHP Scott Patterson (Lancaster)
Texas: OF Erold Andrus (York)
Toronto: OF Jason Lane (Southern Maryland); RHP Vince Perkins (York, Newark and Camden)

Andrus, Botts and Hunton have since been released.



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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

IT IS CHANGE-OF-ADDRESS TIME FOR THESE ATLANTIC LEAGUE PLAYERS

It is a credit to Atlantic League teams when players are released by major league organizations and they go right back to the same Independent team.

Among those recently returning to their "roots" are right-handed pitcher Federico Baez with Camden and infielder-outfielder Kody Kirkland with Southern Maryland. Baez was in the Cincinnati organization and Kirkland with Houston. Infielder Ramon Nivar went back to Newark when the Dodgers dropped him, but the Bears now play in the Can-Am League. Nivar also has played for Camden and York.

Releases are expected at this time of the year as major league organizations get overloaded with players. Among the Atlantic Leaguers let go in recent days are:

RHP Jason Anderson (Somerset) by Philadelphia
OF Erold Andrus (York) by Texas
1B Jason Botts (Camden) by Colorado
RHP Bubbie Buzachero (Long Island) by Houston
OF Joe Gaetti (Lancaster) by Baltimore
RHP Jon Hunton (Somerset and Lancaster) by Oakland

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Friday, April 8, 2011

SOME SUCCESSES AND SOME FAILURES FOR THIS GROUP OF FORMER ATLANTIC LEAGUE HURLERS

It would not be very surprising to see a couple of major league veterans with recent Atlantic League ties return to the league after they did not make it to Opening Day with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Brian Sweeney, who trained with Somerset last April only to be picked up by Seattle prior to the start of the Atlantic League season, got in a few innings with the D-Backs during spring training before ultimately being released.

The other case, also involving a right-handed pitcher, saw Arizona sign Kip Wells shortly before spring training only to drop him a few weeks later. Wells, 33, made five starts for Long Island last season (2-2, 4.00) in his only professional work during 2010. He has a 67-99 major league record.

Sweeney, 36, spent a good part of last year with the parent Mariners, compiling a 1-2record and a creditable 3.16 earned run average in 24 relief appearances. He pitched in Japan during the three previous seasons.

BUMP, JULIO ON MOUND STAFFS

Onetime Camden righty Nate Bump, 8-4, 3.35 with Philadelphia's Triple-A club in Lehigh Valley (Allentown) last season, was tabbed to start the Iron Pigs' second game of the season on Friday. He bolstered his chances of one day getting back to the majors with five strong innings for the parent team against Houston late in spring training. Bump was on one of those one-day invitations from the minor league camp.

Another former Atlantic League hurler, Jorge Julio, a strong closer for Bridgeport last season, is with Pittsburgh's top farm club in Indianapolis in his bid to return to the majors.

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