Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Ray Chang’

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.

Former Fort Wayne Wizard and most recently a Pittsburgh Pirates’ farmhand, Ray Chang has signed a Minor League deal with the Boston Red Sox. He’ll probably play at Triple-A Pawtucket.

Related Ray Chang posts at BBIFW:

• Everybody Loves Raymond (Chang)
• Former Wizards Likely to Debut in 2009 – Part III
• Who the Heck is Ray Chang?
• Ray Chang Surprises with Perfect English

So far, in my estimation, the story of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is former Wizards infielder, Ray Chang. Earlier this spring, he emerged almost as a novelty by being one of three players on China’s WBC team who has an affiliation with a Major League Baseball organization. But, the fact that he was raised in Kansas City and speaks perfect English made him even more appealing.

Chang quitely moved up the organizational ladder with the Padres after being signed as an undrafted free agent. before being released last year. He now plays in the Pirates organization.

Last night, Chang proved to be more than a novelty act by homering and driving in two runs to help China beat Taiwan 4-1 for its first win in the World Baseball Classic. Chang also “made his team’s final out with a slick play at shortstop (Yahoo)”

“I’m just real pleased that I could help my team,” he said.

Collins said Chang “played great for us.”

“He has made good plays defensively and got some big hits. This is a great win for our team and all of China.”

For those who are interested, here are some other BBIFW posts about Chang:

• Who the Heck is Ray Chang?
• Ray Chang Surprises with Perfect English
• Former Wizards Likely to Debut in 2009 – Part III

Here are some other news and blog items that have recently appeared about Chang:

• Ray Chang homers as China beats Taiwan 4-1 in World Baseball Classic (Yahoo Sports)
• Mission Cap of the Night: Ray Chang (Fifty Mission Cap)
• WBC Pool A: China upsets and eliminates Taiwan (Mister Baseball – Germany)
• The WBC’s a hit — in Tokyo, anyway (Chicago Tribune)
• Team China keeps it interesting, but loses first game to Team Japan, 4-0, in WBC opener (Examiner.com)
• Rockhurst grad plays for China in World Baseball Classic (Kansas City.com)

This is the thrid and final part of a series on former Fort Wayne Wizards that I think will debut in Major league Baseball during the 20009 season. In part one, I presented the “sure things” who I think will break camp with their parent clubs or get called up relatively early. Part two presented the “warning track” players who are knocking on the door and waiting for an opportunity at the big league level. Today, I reveal the players I think will have an outside shot or are dark horse candidates to make their debuts:

Jose Lobaton (Padres)
My gosh. We’ve seen a lot of catchers come through Fort Wayne that are either in the Majors or close to it. Colt Morton, Nick Hundley and Luke Carlin are the most recent to go along with Javier Valentin, A.J. Pierzynzki, Chad Moeller, Matt LeCroy and others. Jose Lobaton will most likely be the next on that list. With the Wizards in 2006, he hit .279 with 17 hits in 61 at bats. Over 20 games, he collected three doubles, one homer and 11 runs batted in. He also drew 12 bases on balls. He’s got a great arm, handles the staff well and tends to hit in streaks (ending his Wizards run with an eight game hitting streak). We’ll see him in September if not sooner.

Neil Jamison (Padres)
Neil Jamison was the sixth round pick (number 188 overall) by the Padres in the 2005 Amateur Draft. he San Diego native was a teammate of former Wizards starting pitcher Cesar Ramos while at Long Beach State University. With the Wizards in 2005, Jamison appeared in seven games to post a 1-1 record to go along with 12 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA. The following year, he got into four games with the Wizards while posting a 0-0 record to match a 0.00 ERA and collecting 3 saves. He’s steadily progressed at each stop but had seen his ERA rise each year until his wonderful 2008 season was stopped short because of an elbow injury. In 29 games with Double-A San Antonio, Jamison posted a 2.55 ERA while pitching exclusively in relief. He’ll probably start the year at Triple-A or maybe again at Double-A before moving up. If he can stay healthy, he’d make a good fill-in candidate for a big leaguer who isn’t, but a September call-up is more likely (although they’d have to make room for him on the 40-man roster first).

Josh Alley (Padres)
Alley is another Padres farmhand with breakthrough potential who is not on the 40-man roster. Also like Jamison, Alley spent parts of 2005 and 2006 in Fort Wayne. In 2005, he hit .263 with 40 walks to just 26 K’s over 45 games to collect a.411 OBP. In 2006, he hit .205 in 234 at-bats over 67 games. Alley also hit two home runs and collected 23 runs batted in while swiping 11 bases in 17 attempts. He’s made it as high as Triple-A (albeit a short stint in the end of the 2007 season). 2008 was spent at Double-A San Antonio where he put up respectable but not stellar numbers. Hi patience and good eye are solid assets that might give him a chance when September call-ups take place. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him debut with a team other than the Padres though.

Ernesto Frieri (Padres)
Unlike the previous two, Ernesto Frieri is on the 40-man roster. At just 23-years-old, Frieri is a 4-year veteran of the minor leagues after being signed as an undrafted free agent. Perhaps his best stint in the minors was with Fort Wayne in 2007 (he also appeared in a Wizards Uniform form one game in 2006). In 2007, he appeared in 40 games with the Wizards, all in relief. He posted a 1-2 record to go with a 2.64 earned run average. Frieri struck out 64 and walked 23 over 64.1 innings pitched. He will probably start at 2009 at Double-A San Antonio. Last year, he went 8-6 with a 4.00 ERA at Lake Elsinore. A switch from the starting role to relief might produce a solid opportunity for him to crack through the big league roster though.

Ray Chang (Pirates)
He’s a dark horse this year – maybe not so much next year. He’s playing in the World Baseball Classic for China, so let’s pay attention. Who the heck is Raymond (Ray) Chang? Glad you asked. Read more here. I’m really rooting for this former Wizard.

Todd Donovan (Toronto)
This is perhaps the darkest of the dark horses. Some might even contend it’s more than a bold prediction, but I won’t go there. Todd Donovan has been around Minor League baseball for a while. Since 1999 to be exact. That’s right, he enters his eleventh Minor League Baseball season in 2009. He does so with the Toronto Blue Jays, who are his eight organization. The San Diego Padres selected him in eighth round (number 262 overall) of 1999 amateur draft.  With the Wizards in 2000, Donovan hit .284 with 58 hits, 23 runs batted in, and 25 stolen bases. That later stat is probably what has kept Donovan around so long. The dude has stolen a lot of bases in his day, including 40 in 1999 with Idaho Falls (rookie league), 31 in Double-A Mobile in 2003, a whopping 62 with Jacksonville in 2005 and 37 last year with Oakland’s Double-A team in Midland. In his career, he has over 300 minor league stolen bases. Would be a good pinch runner late in the season.

For more on Todd Donovan, see also:

• Baseball runs deep for Donovan

I’ve noticed that many people have come to this site using “Ray Chang” as part of their key search phrases. Most likely, that is becuase very few have heard of him before this year. Had it not been for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and his inclusion as one of three players (Zhenwang Zhang and Kai Liu being the others) within a Major League club’s affiliation to make the China team, he’d still be a virtual unknown.

Chang primarily plays shortstop, which will likely cause the Chinese team captian, Yufeng Zhang, to move to first base for the WBC. Chang has played in the Padres’ and Pirates’ farm systems, and has a minor-league line of .258/.330/.375. Not eye-popping, but the pitching he’s seen on a regular basis is far better than what his teammates have seen.

The infielder came to the Padres in as an undrafted free agent in 2005 after trying his luck during an open try-out. He had been scouted while playing at Rockhurst University, but was labeled by scouts as having fielding skilsl that were “too latin.”

That year, he split time with the Arizona Fall League and Lake Elsinore. In 2006, he played 26 games with Fort Wayne, hitting .286 with 26 hits and 19 runs over 91 at-bats. He hit three home runs and drove in eight. That season he also played about a dozen games each in Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Portland.

In 2007, Chang split time between High-A Lake Elsinore where he hit .304 and Triple-A Portland, where he spent most of the season. After about 30 games split between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A POrtland, the Padres relased Change. He caught on with Pittsburgh late in the season before appearing in 5 games with their Double-A affiliate in Altoona.

Chang currently plays in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system, and has played as high as Triple-A ball. He was born in Kansas City and originally signed with the Padres as a non-drafted free agent out of Rockhurst University in 2005. In 2008, the Padres released him. The Pirates signed him and sent him to Double-A Altoona, where he appeared in five games.

Related BBIFW Posts:

• Ray Chang Surprises with Perfect English

Photo was pulled from MadFriars.com. I did not take it, nor do I claim ownership.

Back in 2006, the undrafted Ray Chang played in 27 games with the Fort Wayne Wizards. He hit 2.86 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs. Last season, he ended up with the Pittsburgh Pirates three-plus season with the Padres. The Kansas City native is playing int he World Baseball Classic with the China team.

I came across this little humorous tidbit today and I had to share:

The fans at the fence between the Tigers clubhouse and where the players work out are autograph hounds in the true sense. The Tigers are their preference, of course, but on Monday they also wanted the Chinese National Team (getting ready in Lakeland for the World Baseball Classic) to sign names when those players walked by as well.

Many of them obliged, not able to speak English, but knowing what the fans wanted. They signed and bowed. Bowed and signed. Very polite. Very formal.

Suddenly one of them said to the crowd in perfect English — “How’s it going today?”

Taken aback, the fans reacted by applauding. Out of this supposed language barrier came a surprise greeting. Here’s the story behind the surprise, though.

“My name is Ray Chang,” the player said later. “I’m from Kansas City and I’ve played in the Padres organization the last four years. I’ll be back in camp with the Pirates this year when the Classic is over.”

So much for thinking that one of the Chinese players had stayed up late to learn his first English phrase.

“Everyone doing OK?” he asked again — and with that, infielder Ray Chang of the Chinese team walked away, leaving a puzzled, but appreciative crowd behind him.