Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Atlantic League’

Former Wizard, Brett Bonvechio will return for a second stint with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League.

Last season, he played both first and third base for the team, and compiled a .227 batting average while driving in 39 runs. Mid-season, he signed with the Winston-Salem Dash, the White Sox’s A team in the Carolina League.

 Bonvechio was originally selected by the Boston Red Sox in 37th round (1112nd overall) of 2000 amateur draft. He was acquired by the Padres in May of 2004 for Henri Stanley, whom they had claimed off waivers from the Houston Astros. While with the Wizards in 2004, Bonvechio hit .237 with a .309 OBP, nine home runs and 45 RBI’s in 304 at-bats over 82 games.

Former Fort Wayne Wizard outfielder, Kennard Jones has agreed to rejoin the York Revolution of the independant Atlantic League for the 2009 baseball season.

Jones joined the Revolution in June last season, and quickly became the sparkplug in the leadoff spot that helped lead one of the league’s most explosive offenses during the second half run. “K.J.” finished the season tied for fourth in the league with a .333 batting average, best in Revolution history, including a .408 clip during his final 25 games, leading the Revs’ playoff push. He also authored the greatest offensive performance in team history on June 30, going 6-for-6 with a three-run walk-off homerun, the Revs’ first-ever, in a ten-inning win over the Newark Bears. Jones led the club with 17 stolen bases last season.

Jones also played his college ball at Indiana University. He was drafted in the thrid round (number 85 overall) of the 2002 amateur draft. He palyed a total of 101 games in Fort Wayne during parts of the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Of those, 81 came during 2003 when he hit .307 with a .401 OBP, 61 runs 30 runs batted in and 20 stolen bases.

Sean Thompson was drafted by the Padres in 2002 out of Thunder Ridge High School in Littleton Colorado. By 2004, he was putting together a solid season in Fort Wayne where he went 9-6 with a 3.10 ERA over 27 games (all as a starter).

During that season, he struck out 157 and walked 57 in 148 innings pitched. In his first two seasons, his star potential increasingly looked to be a very rapidly rising one.

But then he hit Double-A ball in Mobile, where his plus curveball and quality changeup weren’t quite enough to combat the occasional missed fastball. A poor Spring training the next season saw him return to Double-A. He looked to be turning the corner, and then struggled in May and June. The Padres removed him from the 40-man roster as they traded for Milton Bradley.

Following his release, Thompson caught on with Colorado, and Kansas City. He made it as high as Triple-A for 1 inning over three games in that time (with the Royals in Omaha, where he ended the 2007 season).

As John Conniff reports for MadFriars, Thompson is currently has struggling in the Atlantic League with the Camden Riversharks. Among his teammates is another former Wizards player, outfielder LJ Biernbaum. He has a 1-4 record and a 5.85 ERA.

In his interview with John, Thompson discusses witnessing his first base coach getting killed by a line drive, his reluctance to “let go” with his pitches, injuries, indy league competition and his chances of returning to the farm team of a Major League club.

Update (01/10/2009): Thompson is coming back to Indiana in 2009. The Evansville Otters of the Frontier League have announced that the lefty has signed with the team (hat tip to Friar John).

Photo by Chad Gramling, 2004.

Last February, Matt LeCroy signed with the Oakland A’s following Jeremy Brown’s sudden retirement. The A’s offered the catcher and first baseman a spot on their Triple-A squad, but LeCroy turned it down to play in the Atlantic League for the Lancaster Barnstormers.

“We’re very excited to have him in the middle of our lineup,” manager Von Hayes [a former Major Leaguer who also previously managed in the Midwest League] said. “He’s a proven power hitter, somebody who obviously should do very well in this league. He still has quite a few years left to play.” [Source: Lancaster Online]

LeCroy was selected in the first round (50th overall) by the Minnesota Twins of the 1997 draft. While a member of the Wizards in 1998, he appeared in 64 games. He hit .276 with 9 home runs and 40 runs batted in and drawing 34 walks over 225 at-bats. LeCroy made his big league debut with the Twins in 2000 and played them until signing with Washington as a free agent prior to the 2006 season.

Photo is courtesy of the Fort Wayne Wizards