Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Dirk Hayhurst’

Looks like Will Venable will become the 70th former Wizards player to make his MLB debut. He is in the starting lineup for the Padres tonight against the Colorado Rockies after having his contract purchased along with fellow former Wizard, Josh Geer. Tonight’s lineup features four former Wizards as Dirk Hayhurst makes his second MLB start.

Geer will start tomorrow’s game for the Padres and be the 71st former Wizard to debut.

Also on Saturday, former Wizard, David Pauley is expected to pitch for the Red Sox in a spot start. This will be his third Major League stint with the BoSox. Hopefully he’ll fare better this time around. More an all these players to come.

Following his MLB debut, Dirk Hayhurst spoke with the media and shared his experiences. It looks like he will get another start or two rather than being sent back to Portland.

San Diego general manager Kevin Towers said he wants to get a look at what Hayhurst can do. Hayhurst himself is a little curious himself, especially after getting his feet wet Saturday.

“I’m hungry for more,” he said. “I’m pleased I survived it, but I’m anxious to get another opportunity” [source: MiLB.com]

Congratulations on a great start Dirk. We’re looking forward to seeing what you can do the rest of the season too!

As previously reported, former Wizards pitcher Dirk Hayhurst is set to make his Major League debut today against Barry Zito and the San Francisco Giants.

This debut marks the  seventh former Fort Wayne Wizards player to appear at the Major League level during 2008. Luke Carlin (catcher, Padres) , Jared Wells (Pitcher, Padres then traded to Mariners), Eddie Bonine (Pitcher, Tigers), Leo Rosales (Pitcher, Diamondbacks), Nick Hundley (Catcher, Padres) , Sean Kazmar (Shortstop, Padres) are the others.

But this debut is a bit unique. To suggest that many people know him for his writing prowess than his pitching stats is not an out of this world claim. The 27-year-old Hayhurst is the author of Baseball America’s Non-Prospect Diary. Reading it, you receive insight into the world of Minor League Baseball as well as his personality.

Some people are taken aback by his often less-than-friendly yet honest encounters. I tend to enjoy the real perspectives on things and gotta think it is exactly what BA had hoped for when they assigned him to the task.

But now it’s time for Dirk to stop tapping at the keyboard and pitch. This is his chance, and it may be the only one that the non-prospect receives. As noted at FriarForum, 

The Padres are officially using the rest of this season as a glorified tryout for 2009 and beyond. Hayhurst will be pitching to convince the Padres that he is worthy of being on the 40 man roster this offseason, otherwise the Friars would have to make him available in the Rule V draft.

Padres GM seems to confirm the speculations when he explains why Hayhurst was chosen over several other likely candidates:

“We’re trying to reward a guy who came through our system and has turned himself into a suspect at least,” Towers said Friday. “For a while, Dirk was a guy who we thought only had organizational value. But he’s continued to impress. He has three Major League pitches, throws strikes.”

Hopefully Hayhurst does well and impresses with this chance. However, even if her were to pitch a no-hitter or perfect game, his stint in the rotation will likely be a short one given that Chris Young or Shawn Estes will return from the DL soon.

Whatever the outcome, I hope he chronicals it for us on his Non-Prospect Diary.

Update: Despite well-wishes from Paul DePodesta, Hayhurst will have to settle for a no-decision. He had a rough start to his MLB debut by walking Dave Roberts, who then stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a fielder’s choice by the time the Padres got their first out. That was followed by an Aaron Rowand double that plated another run. He pitched scoreless frames in the second and third before allowing a run in the fourth inning. Then, he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the fifth. The line on Hayhurst’s debut: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 6.75 ERA.

According to SignonSanDiego.com, Triple-A reliever Dirk Hayhurst will start Saturday against the San Francisco Giants. The 27-year-old has appeared in 216 minor league games since the Padres drafted him in the 8th round (221st overall) of the 2003 draft.

For the past two years, Hayhurst has written articles for Baseball Americain their Non-Prospect Diary feature. Ironically, his entry for April 4, 2007 – Maddux gives minor leaguers pearls of wisdom – holds extra meaning, because Hayhurst will take the recently traded Maddux’s rotation spot.

“This was a special treat for me. I have been watching this guy pitch since I was a young thrower. I am really not ashamed to say I idolize the guy.”

On the season, Hayhurst is 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA for the Portland Beavers. The right-hander, who made two starts, has 98 strikeouts and 28 walks in 84 innings.

With the Wizards in 2004, Hayhurst went 9-4 with a 2.66 ERA. He appeared in 26 games, which included 17 starts. Over 118.1 innings pitched, he struck out 106 and walked just 19 batters. Hayhurst will become the 69th former Wizards player to debut in Major League Baseball and the seventh this year.

Here’s some news on two former Wizards pitchers; Dirk Hayhurst and Wade LeBlanc. Both are at similar stages of their journeying through the Padres’ farm system.

Both are with Triple-A Portland. Dirk Hayhurst saw his first action of the season Sunday against the Fresno Grizzlies. He allowed two runs on three hits over two innings in a game that saw the Beavers lose 9-1. Over at Mad Friars, they have a good interview with Hayhurst. I can’t help but post a wonderful quote from that segment here:

I write for Baseball America. I write their non-prospect diary. Everybody else writes this thing called a prospect diary, which is what it’s like to be cool and awesome and hitting real well and drinking protein shakes. But, that’s not real, that’s not the minor leagues. The minor leagues are getting off a bus at 3 am to eat at a gas station or fighting over seating arrangements on a bus in A ball. What’s it like to bicker about who’s going to do the ball bucket, that kind of stuff, real stuff. [read the full piece at Mad Friars]

On the other hand, Wade LeBlanc dazzled in his Triple-A debut. The former Wizards pitcher tied a Beavers record with a career-high 11 strikeouts over just six innings of work to lead Portland to a 9-1 win over the visiting Sacramento RiverCats on Monday (yes, Hayhurst really did lose in a game 9-1 while LeBlanc won a game 9-1).

LeBlanc’s strikeout record ties other former Wizards pitchers Oliver Perez (2003) and Steve Watkins (2004) in single-game strikeouts for Portland. There was speculation during Spring Training that Leblanc had an outside shot at the fifth starter spot before being assigned to Triple-A. Methinks we may see him a time or two before the season is over.