Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Danny Payne’

A few days ago, I reported on some of the performances of former Wizards in the Arizona Fall League. MiLB did the same today.

Padres’ vice president of scouting and player development, Grady Fuson had encouraging words for many of the recent Wizards. Selected, relevant portions of the article are below:

[Jeremy] Hefner was in Arizona to work on converting his slider to a curveball, a pitch the Padres think will prove a more than capable complement to his fastball.

Outfielder Brad Chalk, 22, was in Arizona to refine his swing. Chalk hit .275 in 104 games at Class A Fort Wayne last season with a .354 on-base percentage.

The most improved position players were outfielder Danny Payne…

The Padres also handed out a new award that recognized the player who exemplified leadership among his peers. The recipient was outfielder Brian Joynt, who hit .304 as a third baseman with Lake Elsinore but will likely end up in the outfield.

Pitcher Nick Schmidt, the Padres’ No. 1 Draft pick in 2007 who missed the 2008 season after having elbow surgery, is pitching in the Dominican instructional league.

Pitcher Matt Bush, the former No. 1 Draft pick who made the conversion from shortstop to pitcher in 2007, had a sore triceps and was shut down before the end of instructional league. He’ll be ready for Spring Training.

Some other players mentioned – such as Outfielder Blake Tekotte, infielder Edinson Rincon and pitcher Gary Pointer – are young talents who have not yet played above Low-A ball and may be on their way to Fort Wayne as part of the innagural TinCaps sqaud that begins play in April 2009.

Each year as the Major League Baseball season comes to a close, teams start looking toward the next season. Presumably, that process begins with the teams’ prospects and where they will fall into place come the end of Spring Training.

Each August, Major League clubs determine which prospects will go to Arizona to take part in the Arizona Fall League. Most are Double-A and Triple-A players, but a Class A player may sneak through from time to time. The idea is that key players will be able to receive additional instruction and practice to accelerate their ascent to the Majors and perhaps even jump them a classification along the way.

Eacy year, many of the AFL participants are former Fort Wayne Wizarrds. However, this year’s class includes a couple local ties.

Jarrod Parker earned the distinction of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Most Valuable Pitcher from the team’s field coordinator Jack Howell:

Parker’s slider has progressed to the point that farm director A.J. Hinch considers it the best in the organization.  Combine that with his unanimously-named best four-seamer in the organization and his veteran-like command, and you have one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball.  This Most Valuable Pitcher Award will be the first in a long line of honors for the promising youngster; he’d better clear some room on his mantle [source: futurebacks.com (scout.com subscription required)].

Eric Wedge earned an historic disction this year when he was indcuted into the AFL Hall of Fame. He “became the first member of the Hall of Fame to be inducted for his Major League success as a manager but whose AFL experience was solely as a player [source: MLB.com]. He is also the first former AFL player to have gone on to become a Major LEague Manager.

“I take that as a great honor,” Wedge said before the ceremony. “I was done playing by the time I was 30 years old because of problems with my legs and elbow, but that gave me an opportunity to start managing, and I’ve had the chance to manage some fantastic young ballplayers.”

Former Wizards Danny Payne, Brian Joynt also took part in the AFL and garnered club honors. Payne was named the most improved player; hitting over .300 and leading the team with 21 walks whild putting up some good defense. Joynt earned a leadership award, who went from the cusp of being cut in extended Spring Training to putting together solid numbers at Lake Elsinore and having a chance to be San Antonio’s starting first baseman next season. The award “encompasses everything: desire, professionalism, leadership on and off the field, everything [source: MadFriars.com (Scout.com subscription required)].

Kellen Kulbacki likley would have been on the roster had he not injured his shoulder during the playoff run in Lake Elsinore. Instead of getting playing time after an tremendous 2008 that saw him hit .332 with 20 dingers after getting promoted from Fort Wayne, he’s reahabbing. He’s expected to be fully recovered in time for Spring Training.

Other former Wizards taking part in the AFL this year were Greg Burke, Mike Ekstrom, Wilton Lopez, Kyle Blanks, Mike Baxter, Chad Huffman and Sean Kazmar.

Outfielder Danny Payne joined the Fort Wayne Wizards today while outfielder Angel Mercado has been sent the disabled list, the San Diego Padres announced prior to a six-game Wizards homestand.

Payne was selected by the Padres in the supplemental first round, 64th overall, of the 2007 draft out of Georgia Tech. He spent most of that season with the Eugene Emeralds, hitting .279 with eight doubles, three triples, 21 runs batted in, 17 stolen bases and a league-best 53 walks. Payne appeared in two games with the Wizards at the end of 2007.

Payne was a two-year starter at Georgia Tech, batting leadoff and starting in centerfield. He was a pre-season candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award, the college baseball player of the year and a pre-season second team All-America. In 2006, Payne was a member of the first-team All-ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference), leading the Yellow Jackets with a .356 batting average, along with 11 home runs, 14 doubles, 44 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

Mercado has appeared in 10 games, mainly as the designated hitter, hitting .250 with one double, one home run (which came on Opening Night) and has nine runs batted in.