Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Kyle Day’

The final game at Memorial Stadium saw local standout, Jarrod Parker take the mound. It was one of the few times that a local product played on the field (Rob Bowen being the only other I know of, but I think there was one or two others). As Parkview Field is christened, it will be done with a local standout on the roster of the visiting Dayton Dragons.

Kyle Day grew up in Fort Wayne. A Snider High School product, he was a three-year letter winner. In his senior season, he hit .510 with eight home runs, seven triples and 12 doubles and 49 runs batted in. When he graduated, he was the school’s career and single-season record holder in all four of those categories.

He took his college game to Michigan State, where he took on catching duties and quickly provided massive offense with the bat. As a freshman, he started all 56 games, splitting time between catcher, outfield and DH. He ranked sixth on the team and 30th in the Big Ten with a .315 batting average while pacing the team (fifth in the Big Ten) with 52 runs. As a sophomore, he started 50 games, where he batted .295 with 16 extra-base hits and a team-leading 33 walks. He also led team with a .438 on-base percentage and was second in stolen bases with 14.

He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 19th round (577th overall) following the 2007 season, but returned to Michigan State for his Junior year. That year, he appeared in 53 games, where he hit .320 with 56 hits, 41 runs, eight doubles, nine home runs, 48 runs batted in and 39 walks.

In the 2008 player draft, Day was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round with the 359th pick. He signed and joined the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer (rookie) League. In 31 games, he hit .268 with 30 hits, a home run and 11 RBI’s.

He started 2009 with the Red’s Midwest League affiliate, the Dayton Dragons. Through Wednesday, he had appeared in four games. He’s hitting .333 with a double and two triples.

Dayton, here’s my plea: KYLE DAY TO LEAD OFF!

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.

Last time out, we looked at a Mid-Season report of former Wizards who have been cast out of the Padres’ system for one reason or another. Today, we take a look at the local times across Minor League and Major League Baseball:

• Rob Bowen (Homestead): Bowen hasn’t seen a whole lot of action this year, which is his first with the Oakland A’s, but the rigors of the season look promising that he’ll get to take in a few more games in the second half. On the season, he’s been in 16 games and gotten 45 at-bats (through July 6). He’s sporting a .222 average with 10 hits, 2 doubles and a triple.
• Kyle Day (Snider):  Day was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds this year (after passing up the Cubs last year). He’s currently playing with the Billings Mustangs; the Reds entry of the Rookie Pioneer League. In 6 games with 19 at-bats, Day is hitting 2.63 with 5 hits and 4 runs and an RBI. In addition to his 5 hits, he’s drawn 3 walks to life his on-base percentage to .417 (through July 3).
• Dustin Glant (Wayne): Glant has seen 26 games in relief action for the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He’s got a 1-2 record with a 6.75 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 21 walks over 45.1 innings pitched. 
• Jarrett Grube (DeKalb): Grube has pitched in 28 games for the Tulsa Drillers; a Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. All his action has been in releif, where he has a 2-1 record with a 5.68 ERA. He’s got 27 strikeouts while allowing 21 walks over 38 innings pitched.
  
• Josh Judy (Indiana Tech): In his first season as a pro, Jush Judy has seen 25 games with the Lake County Captains of the South Atlantic League (Class-A). Over 25 games, pitching all of them in relief, Judy has a 7-0 record with 1 save and a 3.52 ERA. His has an impressive 59 strikeouts and just 19 walks over 55.2 innings pitched.
• Simon Klink (Canterbury): Klink is playing with the Double-A Connecticut Defenders in the San Francisco Giants organization. Over 67 games, he has a .212 average with 1 home run and 20 RBI’s. 
• Jarrod Parker (Norwell): A first round pick in last year’s MLB draft, Parker has spent the season in the Midwest League with the South Bend Silverhawks of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization. In starting all 14 games he’s appeared in, Parker has a 7-3 record with a 3.25 ERA. He’s struck out 58 hitters and walked just 19 over 63.2 innings pirched (though July 3). Parker was also named to the MWL All-Star team. 
• Justin Parker: Jarrod’s older brother was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in this year’s draft after putting together another solid season at Wright State University. He’s signed and playing with the D-back’s Class A Short-Season team, the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League. In 12 games, he’s hitting .190 with 8 hits, a double and two triples while driving in four.
  

South Bend visits the Castle August 25-28. Wouldn’t it be a nice homecoming if both the Parker brothers were on the team to take on the Wizards?

Yesterday, Justin Parker was the lone Northeast Indiana representative in the draft. Today, two more were added.

Kyle Day, was selected in the 12th round (359th overall) by the Cincinnati Reds. Last year, he was drafted in the 9th round by the Chicago Cubs, but chose to return to Michigan State instead, where he was their top offensive performer. Day hit .320 with 9 home runs and 48 runs batted in and 39 bases on balls over 175 at-bats. His 28 strikeouts was a college career low and accompanied his .543 slugging percentage. He had been shooting for going in the first five rounds.

Purdue pitcher, Matt Bischoff was selected in the 47th round (1,416 overall) by the New York Mets. the former New Haven High School standout from Decatur was named to the 2008 Big Ten first teamafter completing the year as the team’s number one starter with a 6-3 record and helped lead the Boilermakers to second place finishes in both the Big Ten regular season and tournament.