Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for the ‘TinCaps’ Category

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Former Fort Wayne RHP Brandon Gomes made his major-league debut with the Tampa Bay Rays. He became the 97th Fort Wayne alum to reach the big leagues. Gomes, 26, opened the season with Triple-A Durham, going 0-1 with six saves and a 1.35 ERA to earn a promotion to Tampa Bay. Since joining the Rays’ bullpen, he has delivered 3.1 hitless innings.

“Brandon is just the latest of so many players who have come through Fort Wayne on their way to accomplishing their dreams of playing in the major leagues,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “We take pride in showcasing the major-leaguers of the future each night at Parkview Field.”

Gomes was drafted by the Padres in the 17th round of the 2007 draft and went 5-6 with a 4.10 ERA in Fort Wayne in 2007 and 2008. He shifted to the bullpen in 2008 and shot up the minor-league chain. Gomes was part of a four-player package traded to the Rays this off-season in exchange for SS Jason Bartlett.

Former Fort Wayne Wizards right-hander Corey Kluber is going to the Cleveland Indians as part of a three-team deal that sends Jake Westbrook to the St. Louis Cardinals and Ryan Ludwick to San Diego. Current TinCaps’ pitcher Nick Greenwood is going to St. Louis.

The Cardinals got cash along with Westbrook from the Indians. St. Louis also acquired left-hander Nick Greenwood from San Diego. The 22-year-old Greenwood was 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA at Class A Fort Wayne.

Nick Greenwood as a Member of the TinCaps

Kluber played in Fort Wayne with the Wizards in 2008, the last year for the Wizards. He went 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA, and 72 strikeouts while yielding 13 walks in 56 innings pitched. On the 2010 season, he’s appeared in 22 games for Double-A San Antonio Missions. He is 6-6 with a 3.45 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 122.2 innings pitched.

Greenwood was a 14th-round pick of the Padres in 2009 and appeared in 3 games with the TinCaps that year, striking out 3 and earning a save in 3 innings pitched. On the 2010 season, Greenwood is 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA, and 65 strikeouts over 21 games (17 starts). He also has a save.

photo by Chad Gramling, taken at Parkview Field in 2010.

The San Diego Padres have made some moves that include three former Fort Wayne players. The first TinCap to hit the Majors, Mat Latos has been placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Latos has a strained muscle on his left side, and the move was retroactive to July 9. He’s expected back  for his July 24th start in Pittsburgh. Let’s hope he has a short stint on the DL. His outstanding season has him currently at 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA.

The Padres recalled right-hander Ernesto Frieri and outfielder Luis Durango from Triple-A Portland. Frieri made his MLB debut  last season. On the year, with Triple-A Portland, he is 3-1 with 17 saves and a 1.43 ERA. Durango also debuted late last season and has appeared in six big league games this year, going 5 for 13 with a .385 with two RBI and three runs scored.

TinCaps’ infielder Jeudy Valdez and right-hander Miles Mikolas were added to the Midwest League All-Star roster Tuesday, bringing the host city of Fort Wayne’s total All-Star representatives to six.

The additions are thanks to the promotion of Lansing’s Mark Sobolewski and an injury to Lake County’s Trey Haley.

Valdez, 21, is in his second season in the Midwest League. He’s batting .251 with a team-leading seven home runs and 15 stolen bases. His best game at the plate this year came May 26 vs. Great Lakes when he clubbed a pair of homers, including a grand slam, to finish with six RBI.

Mikolas, 21, has been one of the most reliable relievers on the staff, going 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA. A seventh-round selection in last year’s draft out of Nova Southeastern University, Mikolas had a 26- inning stretch without allowing an earned run this year.

Valdez and Mikolas join TinCaps infielder Nate Freiman, outfielder Danny Payne and righties Jerry Sullivan and Nick Schumacher on the Eastern Division All-Star roster.

The Fort Wayne TinCaps are hosting the 2010 Midwest League All- Star Game, with festivities taking place in Fort Wayne on June 21st and 22nd. The top prospects in the Midwest League will be showcased. Both East and West divisions will field teams of 35 players – or a total of 70 top prospects from the league’s sixteen teams.

The East will be the home team and led by Fort Wayne’s coaching staff. That division includes the Dayton Dragons, Great Lakes Loons, Lansing Lugnuts, West Michigan Whitecaps, South Bend Silver Hawks, and Fort Wayne TinCaps as well as league new-comers, the Lake County Captains and Bowling Green Hot Rods.

The Western Division will be managed by Burlington’s coaching staff and will be made up with players from the Burlington Bees, Clinton Lumberkings, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Quad Cities River Bandits, Peoria Chiefs, Beloit Snappers, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, and Kane County Cougars.

This is the first Midwest League All-Star Game in Fort Wayne since 1994, when it was played at Memorial Stadium. The 2010 edition will also include a Monday night (June 21st) Skills Competition and Home Run Derby, which will consist of four players from each division as well as a local participant, Fort Wayne’s Hometown Hitter.

The evening of the Home Run Derby will be preceded by an autograph session by All-Star Game participants as well as an exhibition home run derby featuring members from area Little Leagues. Participants in the Little League Home Run Derby will be 12 years of age or younger and special fencing will be erected for this portion of the event. The evening’s events will culminate in a spectacular fireworks display.

Tuesday afternoon will feature an All-Star Game Fan Fest at the Grand Wayne Center,which is free to the public starting at noon and going through 3PM. The Fan Fest will provide access to players for autographs and also include interactive games, inflatables, and kids activities.

For on-field entertainment during the game, Fort Wayne has partnered with the best entertainment in Minor League Baseball, including the ZOOperstars, BirdZerk, Myron Noodleman, and Breakin’ BBoy McCoy. Fireworks will also conclude the night’s festivities.

I’ve got my tickets and can’t wait to enjoy the festivities!

Press Coverage:

• TinCaps To Host All-Star Game At Parkview Field (INC)
• TinCaps release MWL All-Star details (News-Sentinel)
• Fort Wayne to Host Baseball All-Star Game (NEIRP)
• Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars and Thousands Expected In Downtown Fort Wayne (INC)
• Area youth to join top hitters (News-Sentinel)
• Home run derby gives local flair to festivities (Journal Gazette)
• All-Star lineup: Baseball, fan faves, fireworks (News-Sentinel)

Tune Saturday at 9:00AM for Talkin’ Sports on WKJG-ESPN Radio 1380. 

Faded Glory, a film about a group of men pursuing a national baseball championship will be shown at the Cinema Center Wednesday May 12. Fort Wayne’s Mike Roesler (a NEIBA Hall of Famer) is one of the featured players in this film and we’ll talk with Mike and the film’s director Rick Cohen.

We’ll also check in with TinCaps President Mike Nutter as the TinCaps are home for the weekend and Komets President Michael Franke as the K’s face the Flint Generals in the IHL Turner Cup finals Saturday night at the Coliseum. We’ll also talk with Stephanie Jentgen from SCAN about plans for the upcoming Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship.

We’ll be naming our SportsCenter Athlete of the Week in the 4th Quarter of the show . Any athlete (youth, adult, high school, collegiate, neighbor) can be a SportsCenter Athlete of the Week. Nominations for the SportsCenter Athlete of the Week can be submitted to this e-mail address or: jim@wowo.com.

Phone lines are always open at 260-447-8500.

Thought I would take a little time and update where many of the former Wizards and TinCaps are playing currently:

Let’s start with the easiest – that being the Padres. On their active roster, are former WizCaps, Mat Latos, Wade LeBlanc, Nick Hundley, Chase Headley, Lance Zawadzki, Kyle Blanks and Will Veneble. Others who are on their 40-man roster (but not active roster) are; Ernesto Frieri, Seve Garrison, Cesar Ramos, Matt Antonelli, and Luis Durango.

After having been released by the Padres during spring, Chad Huffman was quickly picked up by the Yankees. Padres front-office exec Paul DePodesta expressed regret. Friar Forecast called it “no big deal.” In 14 games with the Triple-A Scranton Wiles-Barre Yankees, Huffman is batting .204 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI. He’s struck out 12 time sin 54 at-bats.

Leo Rosales is still in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization and has seen big league action this year. However, he has landed on the DL due to a stress fracture in his right foot. Oddly, he first felt discomfort when he got fellow Fort Wayne alumnus Kyle Blanks (Padres) to ground into a double play

Luke Carlin is nearby in Indianapolis with the the Pittsburgh Pirate’s Triple-A Affiliate, the Indy Indians. The catcher is putting up some pretty solid offensive numbers in 13 games so far on the young season.

Another former ‘zards catcher, Jose Lobaton, is now in the Tampa Bay organization. He served as the backup for two days while Dioner Navarro served a two-game suspension last week. He’s since been optioned back to Triple-A. Also on the Durham Bulls’ roster are former Wizards Dale Thayer and J.J. Furmaniak.

Eddie Bonine is putting logging some big leage innings with Detroit. Perhaps the return of his knuckleball is the magic formula this time around.

“He’s a very useable big league pitcher,” Leyland said of the 28-year-old. “Will he knock your lights out? No. But he’s been a winner wherever he’s been.”

The Camden Riversharks seems to be the preferred indy team for former Wizards. Their current roster includes pitchers Travis Chick and Jon Ellis as well as infielders Brett Bonvechio and Brian Burgamy.

Everyone’s favorite wipping boy, Matt Bush is trying to not only save his career but redeem his life with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the season, he’s seen one game with the class A+ Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Dirk Hayhurst remains with Toronto – but he’s also gained a lot of attention for his New York Times Bestseller, The Bullpen Gospels. He’s also got his own site/blog. Unfortunately, he is likely to miss most of the season following shoulder surgery in February.

Freddy Guzman is in the Phillies organization. He’s currently assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Jared Wells is currently with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks of the Houston Astros organization.

Wilton Lopez is with the Houston Astros organization, currently playing at Triple-A Round Rock, but he has seen big league action on the season already and he remains on the 40-man roster. Another former Wizard, Yordany Ramirez is also on the 40-man roster, but has yet to see big league action at any point in his career. He too is at Triple-A and is hitting .265 with a home run and 6 RBI over 16 games.

A cool - okay, COLD - Opening Night at Parkview Field

Yes, a very cold Opening Night for the TinCaps at Parkview Field as they welcomed the Bowling Green HotRods to the MidWest League. A rather rude welcome at the hands of a 7-2 beating I might add. I snapped this pano pic from the outfield just before heading out. I’ll try to get a gallery posted as soon as possible.

Okay, I know I took the offseason off. Probably will not get back to posting as frequently as in the past, but the locla landscape has changed a lot and there is plenty of news sites out there to keep you in the know. I’ll do what I can to supplement with intriguing and interesting content as time allows.

Here’s a recap of some offseason news and info you might have missed:

Matt Stairs is the first position player in the modern era to play for 12 teams. It comes at the expense of former Wizard, Chad Huffman, who was DFA’d by the Padres. I personally don’t understand that move.

They also added lefty Cesar Ramos when they put Joe Thatcher on the DL. He’s excited to be back with the big club after having made his debut last year.

Former Wizards infielder, Ray Chang is playing for the Double-A Portland Salt Dogs in the Red Sox’s organization.

Former Wizards catcher, Luke Carlin could not crack the Pittsburgh lineup and was sent down. Good chance he’ll be playing in Indiana again – with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

Former DeKalb High School standout and Colorado Rockies farmhand, Jarrett Grube returns to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. He joined them midway through the 2009 season. Although he was used as a reliever during his Coloradotenure “Grube excelled as a starter for Southern Maryland last season. In 16 total appearances he started 12 times, and put together a 3-1 record with a 3.36 ERA. He struck out 56 opposed to just 21 walks in 75 innings.”

In other Indy League news, former Wizards infielder, Brett Bonvechio signed a one-year contract with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League.

Former TinCaps’ pitcher, Simon Castro captured a lot of attention this spring. Particularly, from former Wizards catcher, Nick Hundley:

“Castro has been amazing,” Hundley said. “He’s got great energy. He has really got a feel for every one of his pitches. I didn’t realize he was as advanced as he is.”

The Padres’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year went 10-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 28 games and was a big part of the TinCaps taking the Midwest League crown.

A common trait of teams in the MidWest League is that the team rosters are pretty young since those squads are usually filled with first year players or players entering their first full year. This year’s Fort Wayne TinCaps roster is certainly no exception.

Five 19-year-olds tackle the Midwest League to open 2010 while slugging 1B Nate Freiman and RHP Dexter Carter provide experienced leadership as former college standouts.

Manager Jose Flores makes his full-season managerial debut in 2010. He managed eleven players on the TinCaps’ opening-day roster during his two-year tenure in the Arizona Rookie League. Pitching coach Bronswell Patrick comes to Fort Wayne after an assignment with short-season Eugene last year.

There are 25 players on the TinCaps roster

• Nine have played in Fort Wayne previously: Dexter Carter, Nic Greenwood, John Hussey, Rob Musgrave, Stiven Osuna, Michael Watt, Griffin Benedict, Dean Anna and Juedy Valdez.
• Five are among the San Diego Padres’ top 30 prospects according to Baseball America: Everett Williams (8), Edinson Rincon (9), Rymer Liriano (14), Jerry Sullivan (19) and Dexter Carter (28).
• Five countries are represented: United States, Dominican Republic, Australia, Venezuela and Mexico. Olabisi was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a member of the royal family of the Urhobo tribe. He and his family moved to Saudi Arabia when he was five years old and he played in the 2000 Little League World Series for Saudi Arabia. He has played summer baseball in Canada and now lives in Texas.
• Six were selected in the tenth round or earlier: RHP Miles Mikolas (7th 2009), Sullivan (3rd 2009), Watt (2nd 2007), Jason Hagerty (5th 2009), Nate Freiman (8th 2009) and Williams (2nd 2009).