Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for the ‘College Ball’ Category

Lost in the shuffle of the TinCaps and Parkview Field excitement is the fact that we have many local standouts who are playing on the college and professional level. I’m trying to keep up, but it ain’t easy. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights:

Former Snider standout, Kyle Day has landed on the Dayton Dragons’ roster. That means there’s a good chance that the first game in Parkview Field history will feature a local product. I think they should let him hit leadoff – which would make him the first hitter in the park’s history. How cool would that be?

In Mid-May, there’s a good chance we’ll see another local product at Parkview Field. Justin Parker has been assigned to the South Bend Silverhawks. It’s likely that we’ll see him then.

Ball State junior, Ryan Chenoweth (Homestead) drove in five of the Cardinals’ runs in a 15-9 win over Buffalo. Junior catcher, Zach Dygert (Angola) also drove in a couple runs in that game.

Though Bob Parker is long since passed, his work continues to live on. Great to see a recent post about his unique baseball cards. I would love to do a book about Bob Parker and his work someday. Please contact me if you can help.

Josh Judy (Indiana Tech) is starting the year with the High-A Kinston Indians.

Taylor University baseball freshman Ryne Otis has been named the Mid-Central College Conference Player of the Week, as announced Monday afternoon by the MCC office. The award is the first in Otis’ young career.

Otis hit .600 in six games last week, including four multi-hit games to bring his season total to 10 games with at least two hits.  He accounted for 18 of Taylor’s runs in a 5-1 week for the Trojans by crossing the plate 9 times and driving in another 9 runs.

From Ossian, Indiana, where he played his high school baseball at Norwell High School, Otis is currently riding an 8-game hitting streak, including a .548 batting average in his last ten games. After batting just .161 in his first ten collegiate games, Otis is now third on Taylor’s team with a .351 batting average.

Otis and the Trojans (19-9, 5-1 MCC) will be back in action when they host Huntington University (16-11, 9-3) on Wednesday for a doubleheader.  First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Taylor University head baseball coach Kyle Gould has announced the signing of Stryker Salyer for the 2010 season.  Salyer, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a catcher in his senior season at Homestead High School. 

A switch-hitter, Salyer was ranked by Prep Baseball Report as the #83 prospect in the state of Indiana. 
He was the starting catcher for Blackhawk Christian High School in Fort Wayne as a freshman, and helped lead the Braves to the 2006 Indiana State Championship.

Salyer has spent his summers competing for the Indiana Bulls and US Athletic, both elite club programs located in Indianapolis.

With current Taylor catcher and back-to-back All-MCC pick Paul Passiales graduating following the 2009 season, coach Gould looks forward to what Salyer will bring to the catcher position for the Trojans.

“Stryker has shown that he has all the tools necessary to be a very good college catcher,” said Gould.  “He is a good athlete who possesses good speed, a quick release, and quick hands at the plate.  He has played against great competition not only during his high school season, but also during the summers with two of the top summer programs in the State.  I look forward to him joining us for the 2010 season.”

Several local standouts have taken their games to the college level. Recently, some of their names have appeared on the web:

Ball State’s baseball team boasts a handful of represenatives from Northeast Indiana. A recent game against Southern Illinois University featured two of them. In the contest, junior catcher Zach Dygert (Angola) drove in three runs and reached base four times. In that same game, junior right fielder Ryan Chenoweth (Homestead) collected a double in his last at-bat to bring the game-tying run to the plate. Unfortunately, the Cardinal’s bid to come from behind fell short.

In another close contest, Kreigh Williams (Norwell) scored the game tying run for Rose-Hulman to take the game into extra innings. The team fell short and lost 4-3. Ryan Fuller (Elmhurst) also tossed two scoreless innings for Rose-Hulman in the game.

FanGraphs recently reviewed the Arizona Diamondbacks’ farm system. And of course, no analysis of the D-backs’ system would be complete without mentioning of Jarrod Parker:

Jarrod Parker is the system’s best prospect but some of the enthusiasm that saw him get drafted ninth overall has been tempered. He is no longer viewed as a future No. 1 stud starter, but more of a solid and reliable No. 2 or 3 starter. He allowed 113 hits in 117 A-ball innings in 2008. Parker also posted rates of 2.52 BB/9 and 8.95 K/9. The right-hander has four solid pitches, including a mid-90s fastball, curveball, slider and change-up. At the age of 20, Parker will likely begin the year in High-A ball but could taste Double-A by the end of the year.

Speaking of Jarrod Parker, I recently got to thinking about an intersting tidbit that I don’t think many people have realized yet.

As you may recall, Jarrod Parker pitched the final game in Memorial Stadium. By all accounts, it was the first time in the sixteen year history of the park that a local product appeared in a game there (if you know of any others, please correct me). It took a decade and a half to get a local product on the field at Memorial Stadium.

It might take one day to achieve the same feat at Parkview Field.

Last year, Kyle Day (Snider) was taken in the 12th round by the Cincinnati Reds. He signed and played in 31 games with the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer (Rookie) League. I’m not sure how the Reds run their minor league system, but I would think that given his experience from last season and that he has college experience, he may start the season with the Red’s Single-A Midwest League affiliate, the Dayton Dragons.

Take a look at the TinCaps’ schedule. Who do they play on Opening Day at Parkview Field? That’s right, the Dayton Dragons.

Then agian, since he has college ezperience, he may get started at High-A Sarasota. I’ve searched around for information on Day’s 2009 outlook and have come up empty thus far. Anyoen have any insight?

Blake McKnight, a homeschooled student from Missouri recently signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Evangel University in Springfield. Last year, McKnight and the traveling team founded by his father won the National Homeschool Baseball Tournament that was held in Fort Wayne. He was also was named tournament MVP. He’s going to take a break from baseball to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua.

Here’s a video of the Fort Wayne trip that I found on YouTube. Congrats Blake! I look forward to following your career.

BASEBALL COMEBACK LEADS TO CHAMPIONSHIP

Taylor scored 13 runs in the final three innings Saturday to erase a seven-run deficit and earn the Trojans the championship at the Bryan College Baseball Invitational by defeating Emmanuel College 16-10. Down 10-3 in the fifth inning, the Taylor bats came alive to score four runs in the fifth inning and nine runs in the sixth to complete the comeback.

Paul Passiales headlined the Trojan offense by finishing 4-for-5 from the plate, including a monster home run blast to give him two RBIs in the game. Michael Kraynak hit a home run for his second of the day.  The junior then closed the day out on the mound, receiving no decision. Joining the home run parade was Cassidy Emery, who had a three-run blast and a double as he finished with three runs batted in.  Nate Hillery (Noth Side) finished the game with two hits, including a three-run double. Picking up the win in relief was Brent Kimbro.  The freshman pitched 2 1/3 innings after starter Chris Howell (Bishop Dwenger) left the game.

The championship game victory gives Taylor (3-3) momentum as they head to Kentucky next week to take on Brescia University.

Note About Taylor Baseball: the folks at this school’s on-line development area have it together. Not only do they regularly e-mail me press releases about their achievements, they also have RSS feeds for their team news and results. Well done Taylor. Kudos.

Last Wednesday, three local standouts singed letters of intnet to play baseball at the college level. Accoring to the News Sentinel, Canterbury’s Cameron Squires will play baseball at Yale while Snider’s Spencer Anderson and Alex Mitchell will take the field for Vincennes

Ryan Kelley at Baseball Chronicle likes Jarrod Parker’s long-term potential:

If the Diamondbacks can get this kid going, they could quite possibly have the best rotation in the MLB, manning a ship with Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Max Scherzer, Jarrod Parker and Yusmeiro Petit. Parker has very good stuff. At age 19 he absolutely dominated single A grabbing 12 wins, striking out 117 in 117 ip, and walking only 33. Obviously if he’s this good at this age the sky is the limit by the time he reaches the MLB.

Speaking of Parker, former Big Leaguer, Brett Butler expects to see Parker join his Triple-A Reno Aces before the 2009 season is over.

Local blogger, Cathy Dee covered the Eric Wedge Baseball Camp. Good stuff.

Taylor head baseball coach Kyle Gould announces the signing of Chuck Weaver to the Trojan club for the 2009-10 school year.

Weaver will graduate from Homestead High School in Fort Wayne this spring. The 6’5″ right-handed pitcher also plays third base and helped his team to a 4A State Runner-Up finish in 2008 for coach Steve Sotir.

Ranked as the #71 prospect in the State of Indiana by Prep Baseball Report, Weaver hit .349 as a junior and played in the summer for the Fort Wayne Cubs.

Coach Gould is excited about Weaver joining the Trojan roster,

“Chuck is a very versatile player with a lot of potential. He posses great size, a power arm, good defensive instincts and the ability to hit the ball with some power. He has had great success playing on one of the top high school teams in the state of Indiana as well as in the summers with the Fort Wayne Cubs. He has the ability to be an impact player both on the mound and at third base for us during his time at Taylor.”

The Taylor University Athletic Department plans to broadcast live stats for most home softball and baseball games this Spring.  Fans who cannot make it to the live events will be able to follow the live, play-by-play action by clicking on the Live Stats icons that appear on the Taylor athletics website.  These images can be found on the right hand side of the athletics website (www.taylor.edu/athletics) or by clicking on the ‘Schedule and Scores’ section of each team’s home page.

After clicking the Live Stats link, the page will automatically refresh every 30 seconds with the updated time, stats, play-by-play, and score.

The school is currently providing live stats on the Internet for all remaining home contests for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Plans are being made to provide coverage next fall for Trojan football and volleyball, along with men’s and women’s soccer games.

The Taylor University baseball team features several area standouts, including; Nate Hillary (Junior – Fort Wayne North), Ryne Otis (Freshman – Norwell), Travis Carsten (Freshman – Homestead), Taylor Kinzer (Sophomore – Homestead), and Chris Howell (Sophomore – Bishop Dwenger)

Kyle Blanks Autograph at Padnographs (Wizards).

Simon Klink Home Run Photo at Greg’s Connecticut Defenders Blog (Local Ties).

Jarrod Parker likely to be in Diamondback’s Rotation in 2010, says USA Today (Local Ties).

Huntington University baseball coach, Mike Frame will be inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame during a ceremony in January 2009 (Local Ties).

Memorial Stadium is profiled at Little Ball Parks (Wizards).