Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for June, 2007

Nearly three years after they drafted him first overall as a shortstop, the San Diego Padres and Matt Bush are trying a different position: Pitcher.
The 21-year-old Bush is “ecstatic” to return to the mound. He last pitched competitively in 2004 while at Mission Bay High. Bush went 9-1 with a 0.42 ERA. He struck out 91 over 66 innings and his fastball regulary hit in excess of 90 mph.

After working with pitching coach Steve Webber, Bush saw his first action as a pitcher in the Arizona Summer League. From SignOnSanDiego:

Making his pitching debut in the Arizona Summer League yesterday, converted shortstop Matt Bush threw 94-98 mph, striking out two in a scoreless, 12-pitch inning. “He’s been the talk of minicamp,” said Mike Wickham, assistant to Vice President Grady Fuson.

This will be an interesting storyline to follow and could produce a third stint with the Wizards.

While this adjustment may seem drastic and perhaps questionable, it is not without precident. In 1990, another struggling young shortstop made a transition to pitcher. At the time, the 22-year-old was hitting in the low .200′s and hadn’t pitched since little league. He also struggled defensively.

That was seventeen years ago. Today, Trevor Hoffman has more saves than any other pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball. [Read More About Hoffman's Transition Here] Not a bad more at all.

Best of luck Matt!

[tags]Matt Bush, Trevor Hoffman, Infielder to Pitcher[/tags]

Most observers had a pretty good idea that Michael Barrett was on his way out of the Chicago Cubs organization. However, very few knew that it meant Fort Wayne native Rob Bowen was on his way in.

Bowen gives the Cubs a defensive-minded switch-hitting backstop. Having played previously with the Twins and Padres, the Chicago Cubs is Bowen’s third professional organization. Bowen, who was hitting .268 with eight doubles, two homers and 11 RBIs in 30 games with the Padres arrived and was in uniform for Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers, but saw no game action. He may get his first start as a Cubs player on Thursday.

“You look at this deal from a standpoint that we’re getting a catcher who we can control for the next three or four years, and we’re getting a nice, young left-handed bat [outfielder Kyler Burke] in the system who we can put in the system and grow in the system,” Piniella said. [source: MLB.com]

Burke, 19, was selected by the San Diego Padres in the supplemental round of the 2006 Firt Year Player Draft. As a senior at Ooltewah High School in Tennessee he batted .459 with 20 homers and 58 RBIs in 45 games.

While in Fort Wayne with the Wizards, Burke hit .211 with 45 hits and 1 home run in 213 at-bats.

Photo: Kyler Burke during an at-bat at Memorial Stadium – by Chad Gramling

[tags]Kyler Burke, Michael Barrett, Rob Bowen, Baseball in Fort Wayne[/tags]

Though they didn’t see a whole lot of action, there were three Fort Wayne Wizards on the MidWest League All-Star team.

Infielder, Rayner Contreras, starting pitcher Nathan Culp, and relief pitcher R.J. Rodriguez all made the trip to Kane County to represent the team.

In two at-bats, Contreras had one hit and struck out once. Rodriguez pitched one inning and gave up one hit while striking out two.

Culp did not see any game action.

[tags]Midwest League All Star Game, Fort Wayne Wizards[/tags]

Lots of things to note. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Congratulations to Norwell and Heritage High Schools for their representation of the area at the state finals this past weekend. Norwell capped a perfect season (35-0) by blanking Evansville Mater Dei, 5-0, in the Class 3A championship game June 16 at Victory Field. [source: HoosierAuthority]. In 2A action, Heritage fell behind the South Spencer Patriots early and felt defeat in the final game 13-0. Heritage’s season ends at 20-11 after its first state finals appearance [source: New Sentinel]
• Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Corey Koskie, continues to make progress as he attempts to come back from a concussion that occured on the field nearly one year ago. Read more at MLB.com.
• Lots of coverage about Norwell’s Jarrod Parker and his first round selection in the draft. Check out MLB.com’s “D-backs get their man, HS righty Parker“.
• Former Fort Wayne Wizard, JJ Furmaniak is back in the big leagues. Now with the Oakland Athletics, he made his big league debut on September 13, 2005 with the Pittsburgh Pirates after being acquired in a trade for catcher, David Ross (who is now with the Reds). While in Fort Wayne, JJ appeared in 123 games and collected 96 hits, 24 doubles and 11 stolen bases.

Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Chase Headley was called up to the big club today as the San Diego Padres took on the Chicago Cubs. In three at-bats, he went hitless and stranded a runner.

Headley was leading the Texas League in hitting (.357) and was tied for second with 13 home runs and ranked second in RBIs (42) in 62 games for the [San Antonio] Missions. He was hitting .436 in June and impressed Padres general manager Kevin Towers, who recently was in San Antonio. [source: MLB.com]

Headley was selected by the Friars in the second round of the 2005 Draft out of the University of Tennessee. The switch-hitting third baseman hit .360 in April and .324 in May. Headley was 17-for-39 in June with five home runs and nine RBIs in 11 games.

Headley’s time in Fort Wayne was brief; playing in only 4 games for the Wizards in 2005. In 15 at-bats, he scored 2 runs, a run batted in and drew a base on balls once.

But there are more Fort Wayne connections to the story.

During the off-season, former Fort Wayne Wizards second baseman, Josh Barfield, was traded to the Indians. In return, San Diego got third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. It was his lower back injury that prompted Headley’s promotion. In another Fort Wayne tie, the manager of the San Antonio Missions who informed the young third baseman of his call-up is Randy Ready, who was also the skipper of the Wizards in 2004 through 2006. Another former Wizard, Paul McAnulty, was sent down to Triple-A Portland to make room on the roster for Headley.

[tags]Chase Headley, Paul McAnulty, San Antonia Missions, Randy Ready, Padres, Friars[/tags]

Former Fort Wayne Wizards pitcher, Joakim Soria may be in Kansas City, but that doesn’t mean people haven’t started to take notice.

“Soria certainly has been one of the great stories of the year thus far — not just for the Royals but throughout all of baseball,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. [source: MLB.com]

The 23-year-old right-hander from Monclova, Mexico, was snatched up by the Royals in the Rule 5 Draft last winter when San Diego left him unprotected. They thought he’d slide through without being taken – but Moore took the advice of special assistant Louie Medina’s scouting advice and took the former Wizard.

Two days later, Soria pitched a perfect game for Obregon against Hermosillo. He broke Spring Training with the big club and has since pitched in 23 games and collected 10 saves.

MLB.com recently featured Soria in an article by Dick Kaegel. While in Fort Wayne, Soria pitched 11.2 innings, garnering a 2.31 ERA in seven games. He allowed five hits and three runs while striking out 11.

[tags]Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals, Baseball in Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne Wizards, Rule 5[/tags]

Former Fort Wayne Wizards, AJ Pierzynski received a one-game suspension and was also fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball for inappropriate actions in the eighth inning of Thursday’s game against the New York Yankees. Pierzynski swunk and struck out on a high fastball from Mariano Rivera to end the inning. It left the tying run on base.

He slammed his bat on home plate and shared some choice words with the umpire before being ejected . . . which prompted him to throw his helmet in the umpire’s direction.

If you want to read more, here are some links for you:
MLB.com | Yahoo Sports | SI.com

[tags] AJ Pierzynski, Fort Wayne Wizards, Suspension[/tags]

Jarrod Parker made the biggest local splash of the draft yesterday, going in the first round as the ninth overall selection. But there were a handful of other diamond hopefuls who were drafted. I have tried to research all those with Northeast Indiana ties, but if I have missed any, please feel free to let me know.

Andy DeLaGarza (Norwell)was selected in the 18th round by the San Francisco Giants – going 554th overall. DeLaGarza, a left handed pitcher at Coastal Carolina University, was 9-2 with a 3.51 ERA in 17 appearances this season. Over 102.2 innings, he struck out 53 and allowed just 22 walks. DeLaGarza was also drafted in 2003 out of high school by the Minnesota Twins but chose college instead.

Kyle Day (Snider) is a sophomore catcher at Michigan State University. He was selected in the 19th round by the Chicago Cubs at 577 overall. Day was a Baseball America Preseason All-Big Ten and Collegiate Baseball Big Ten Player to Watch selection. He was also named one of the top prospects in the Jayhawk League last summer by Baseball America. He led the team with a .438 on-base percentage and drew 33 walks.

Ben Norton (Bishop Dwenger) a senior pitcher at the University of Evansville was selected in the 24th round at 726 overall by the Kansas City Royals. He transferred to UE from Wabash Valley Junior College prior to the 2006 season and put together a career 18-7 record and 2.89 ERA in 36 games. In 196.1 innings, Norton allowed just 173 base hits while striking out 160. His 18 career victories rank him at 16th all-time in UE history and represent the highest mark by a two-year pitcher in school history.

Kyle Leiendecker a left-handed pitcher at Homestead High School was selected in the 25th round at 767 overall by the Cleveland Indians.

Jason Nance, a first baseman at Blackford High School was selected 915 overall in the 30th round by the Seattle Mariners.

Fred Jones (Churubusco) a senior pitcher at the University of Evansville was selected in the 33rd round of the draft by the New York Yankees. Jones pitched in parts of three seasons for Evansville, compiling a 7-10 record and 3.90 ERA in 147.2 career innings on the mound. Jones allowed just 129 base hits while at Evansville and made UE history in his first season by hurling the first-ever no-hitter at UE’s Braun Stadium against Northern Iowa on April 10, 2005.

Josh Judy, a junior pitcher from Morgantown, West Virginia, was taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 34th round at 1,034 overall. This season at Indiana Tech, he posted an 8-1 record with a 1.63 earned run average and 84 strikeouts. He’s also a two-time NAIA All-American pitcher.

Michael Morrison, a Bishop Luers senior was selected in the 45th round at number 1339 overall.

Congratulations to this year’s diamond standouts! I can’t wait to see you take the field on the pro level!

Ford C. Frick, a Noble County native who served as Major League Baseball Commissioner from 1951-1965, will be honored in Indianapolis this evening at Victory Field. He is among several Indiana Hall of Fame recipients who will be honored during an Indianapolis Indians minor league baseball game as part of a “Hoosiers in the Hall” ceremony.

The late Commissioner will be represented at the ceremonies by several descendants, many of whom still live in Noble County. Frick was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970.
After serving two seven-year terms as commissioner, Frick retired in November 1965.

Other individuals with northeast Indiana ties who will be recognized at Friday’s ceremonies include Chuck Klein, and Max Carey. Kelin played with Fort Wayne’s Central League team before being traded to Philadelphia in 1928. Carey was enrolled in a six-year pre-ministerial program at Concordia College in Fort Wayne, where he participated in several athletic programs; including baseball, before he joined the South Bend Central League squad.

[tags]Hoosiers in the Hall, Indianapolis Indians, Baseball in Fort Wayne, Chuck Klein, Ford Frick, Max Carey[/tags]

As expected, Norwell High School’s Jarrod Parker went in the first round of the Major Leauge Baseball Amateur Draft today. I had previously heard he might go with the seventh pick by the Brewers (as I mentioned a few days ago) as there was speculation that they Chicago Cubs would snag him with the third overall pick.

Instead, he went with the ninth overall selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks. His selection marks the second-highest Indiana high school player ever selected in the draft – behind Kokomo pitcher Pat Underwood; who was picked by the Detroit Tigers with the second overall pick of the 1976 draft.

He was a kid that we were obviously high on coming in,” D-backs scouting director Tom Allison said. “[Diamondbacks scout ] Mike Daughtry has formed a tremendous relationship with the player and his family. This is a strong kid with character, makeup, intelligence — all of those things that are important for him as he starts his career besides his physical ability. [source: MLB.com]

According to the Journal Gazette:

Parker, who last year orally committed to attend Georgia Tech, will have until Aug. 15 to sign a contract with the Diamondbacks. If he chooses not to sign, he will have to wait three years to re-enter the MLB draft. He would then be eligible to be drafted by any team.

Although negotiations are expected to be lengthy, Parker could receive a signing bonus anywhere from $1 to $10 million.

That said, there is still a small bit of unfinished business for the Norwell star. His team is the top ranked Class 3A with a 32-0 record. They will play South Bend St. Joseph’s at 11 a.m. in the Plymouth semistate.

In Case You Are Wondering: The Midwest League Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks is the in-state rival of the Fort Wayne Wizards, the South Bend Silverhawks.

[tags]Jarrod Parker, Norwell High School, Baseball in Fort Wayne, MLB Draft[/tags]