Baseball in Fort Wayne

Right handed pitcher John Madden and outfileder Javis Diaz were selected with picks 23 and 26 respectively in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 Draft today. Madden goes tot he Mets and Diaz goes to the Phillies.

With the Wizards in 2006, Diaz appeared in 27 games where he hit .315 with seven RBIs and eight stolen bases. The following year with Fort Wayne, Diaz appeared in 117 games. He had a .277 average with seven home runs, 36 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.

Madden appeared in 49 games with the Wizards in 2006, all of the in relief. He compiled a 2-3 record with a 2.12 ERA and 48 strikeouts over 51 innings pitched. He also had 20 saves to boot.

However, neither player put up very impressive numbers during the tenure following their Fort Wayne stints. Paul DePodesta echoes this sentiment on his blog:

John is a low 3/4 reliever who has done a nice job over the past two seasons in Lake Elsinore and just turned 26.

Javis is a a 24 year old outfielder who can run, but he started losing playing time this year in Elsinore.

In most cases, players are exposed in the minor league phase when we believe that they will likely have a better opportunity with another Club as of next spring. Sometimes it’s simply a numbers game – who is moving up a level, who is going to get the playing time, etc.

Another reaction from around the Blog-o-sphere:

• Phillies Nation on Diaz: “Another poor hitter, he stole 28 bases last season for the Padres A+ team. Nothing else says he’s a winner.”