Dukies in Pro Baseball

[awhom111]

I thought it would be a good idea to provide a list of where former Duke Baseball players are now playing professionally now that the season has started. Duke Sports Information does a great job of tracking the players but I think they may wait until after the Draft and the short-season leagues start.

Chris Capuano is pitching for the Dodgers.

Danny Otero, who played three years at Duke before playing his final season at South Florida, is in the bullpen for the Giants after being placed on the 40 man roster then performing well in Spring Training.

Jim Gallagher is playing AAA ball in Charlotte for the second season in a row in the White Sox organization.

Nate Freiman is at AA San Antonio for the Padres.

Alex Hassan is with AAA Pawtucket for the Red Sox.

Jake Lemmerman is at AA Chattanooga again for the Dodgers.

Chris Manno is in AA with the Reds in Pensacola.

Dennis O'Grady is pitching with the Padres at their A Advanced affiliate in Lake Elsinore.

If I missed any other players who have started their Minor League seasons, post them and we will see what they are up to.

[Sgt. Dingleberry]

Danny Otero, who played three years at Duke before playing his final season at South Florida, is in the bullpen for the Giants after being placed on the 40 man roster then performing well in Spring Training.

Baseball and college basketball are my two favorite sports to watch. The San Francisco Giants are my favorite team. I typically head out to Hickory or Greensboro to watch their minor league team when it swings through.

I loved Otero's statistics even before I knew he was a Dukie. The guy has just carved up the minors. I think he is going to be a very successful reliever in the big leagues. He doesn't walk anyone and strikes out guys at a good clip, in other words, he pitches smart. I should have known he went to Duke. :cool:

[chrishoke]

I thought it would be a good idea to provide a list of where former Duke Baseball players are now playing professionally now that the season has started. Duke Sports Information does a great job of tracking the players but I think they may wait until after the Draft and the short-season leagues start.

Chris Capuano is pitching for the Dodgers.

Danny Otero, who played three years at Duke before playing his final season at South Florida, is in the bullpen for the Giants after being placed on the 40 man roster then performing well in Spring Training.

Jim Gallagher is playing AAA ball in Charlotte for the second season in a row in the White Sox organization.

Nate Freiman is at AA San Antonio for the Padres.

Alex Hassan is with AAA Pawtucket for the Red Sox.

Jake Lemmerman is at AA Chattanooga again for the Dodgers.

Chris Manno is in AA with the Reds in Pensacola.

Dennis O'Grady is pitching with the Padres at their A Advanced affiliate in Lake Elsinore.

If I missed any other players who have started their Minor League seasons, post them and we will see what they are up to.

Shoenweis(sp?)?

[nmduke2001]

Shoenweis(sp?)?

Sadly, after the sudden death of his wife in 2009, Scott Schoeneweis was not able to regain his form as a pitcher. He last pitched in 2010 per mlb.com.

[awhom111]

Baseball and college basketball are my two favorite sports to watch. The San Francisco Giants are my favorite team. I typically head out to Hickory or Greensboro to watch their minor league team when it swings through.

I loved Otero's statistics even before I knew he was a Dukie. The guy has just carved up the minors. I think he is going to be a very successful reliever in the big leagues. He doesn't walk anyone and strikes out guys at a good clip, in other words, he pitches smart. I should have known he went to Duke. :cool:

The Giants are the closest team to me, although I am more of an A's fan. Otero has been pretty solid so far.



One more Duke player has started his minor league season. Greg Burke, who was with the Padres system recently, signed with the Orioles a couple of months ago and is now at their AA affiliate in Bowie.

[Reilly]

Curious as to list of all-time major leaguers from Duke:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/schools/index.cgi?key_school=ab7868a7


Found this interesting recollection from Crash Davis (note Connie Mack paying his way at Duke … and the NCAA worries about agent benefits; also, brush w/ Bobby Kennedy):


http://philadelphiaathletics.org/history/crashdavis.htm

[Dev11]

Curious as to list of all-time major leaguers from Duke:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/schools/index.cgi?key_school=ab7868a7


Found this interesting recollection from Crash Davis (note Connie Mack paying his way at Duke … and the NCAA worries about agent benefits; also, brush w/ Bobby Kennedy):


http://philadelphiaathletics.org/history/crashdavis.htm

I know this list isn't complete, because I recall Larry Broadway playing a short time in the majors with the Nats a few years back.

[juise]

As a Dodger fan, I'm happy to report that Chris Capuano struck out nine, gave up 3 hits, and no runs in six and two thirds in a win over the Nats today. Great outing by Chris.

[JBDuke]

As a Dodger fan, I'm happy to report that Chris Capuano struck out nine, gave up 3 hits, and no runs in six and two thirds in a win over the Nats today. Great outing by Chris.

As a Nats fan, I was a bit conflicted on this one. Great series, with some excellent pitching on both sides. Chris's dominant game (3 hits, 2 walks, 6.2 innings, 0 ER) was a little easier to take than if he hadn't been a Blue Devil.

[Sgt. Dingleberry]

As a Dodger fan, I'm happy to report that Chris Capuano struck out nine, gave up 3 hits, and no runs in six and two thirds in a win over the Nats today. Great outing by Chris.

As a Giants fan, watching Capuano pitch for the Dodgers is like watching Nolan Smith suit up for the Tar Heels.:p

Dan Otero got hit around hard by the Reds in Cincinnati and was sent down to AAA and replaced by another reliever. The Giants don't have a lot of patience with kids when they fail at first. Personally, I would have given him more time to prove himself as his career minor league numbers are off the charts.

[jimsumner]

I know this list isn't complete, because I recall Larry Broadway playing a short time in the majors with the Nats a few years back.

I'm pretty sure Broadway never made the majors. Injuries at Triple-A.

[MChambers]

As a Dodger fan, I'm happy to report that Chris Capuano struck out nine, gave up 3 hits, and no runs in six and two thirds in a win over the Nats today. Great outing by Chris.

I'm always happy to see a Duke player do well, but the Nats make all opposing starters look like Walter Johnson.

[Dev11]

I'm always happy to see a Duke player do well, but the Nats make all opposing starters look like Walter Johnson.

And until this past weekend, it didn't really matter since we've got 4 Big Trains on our staff, too.

To the Off-Topic board!

[awhom111]

Dan Otero got hit around hard by the Reds in Cincinnati and was sent down to AAA and replaced by another reliever. The Giants don't have a lot of patience with kids when they fail at first. Personally, I would have given him more time to prove himself as his career minor league numbers are off the charts.

He had a string of solid outings before the Reds game and the timing just kind of worked out to force him down. The Giants needed a sixth starter after the rainout and subsequent doubleheader and then when they were done with their starter they decided to bring up Edlefsen, who was not particularly special last season. I hope Otero gets a little time to recover a bit as a setup man in Fresno and we can see him in the big leagues again soon.


One more Duke player has gotten their minor league assignment as Ryan McCurdy is at Houston's Class A Advanced affiliate in Lancaster, California.

[awhom111]

Ryan McCurdy has been moved up to AA Corpus Christi.

[gwwilburn]

Saw Chris Capuano pitch a gem at Wrigley today. 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H. He also had a 2-RBI double from the left side of the plate. He's now 4-0 on the season.

[dyedwab]

Saw Chris Capuano pitch a gem at Wrigley today. 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H. He also had a 2-RBI double from the left side of the plate. He's now 4-0 on the season.


Capuano has been, imho, the biggest positive pitching surprise of the season so far. Wish he had stayed with my beloved and beleaguered New York Mets.

[dukebsbll14]

Article on MLB.com about Marcus Stroman and his draft status. Looking forward to seeing him pitch at the next level!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120522&content_id=31971588&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

[tommy]

After beating the Diamondbacks 6-1 last night, Capuano is now 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA. He went 6 innings, gave up four hits and one run. Solid. If he keeps this up, he'll belong on the All-Star team.

[nmduke2001]

Article on MLB.com about Marcus Stroman and his draft status. Looking forward to seeing him pitch at the next level!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120522&content_id=31971588&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

Rank Name Position School
1 Byron Buxton OF Appling County (Ga.) High
2 Carlos Correa SS Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
3 Lucas Giolito RHP Harvard Westlake (Calif.) High
4 Mark Appel RHP Stanford
5 Kevin Gausman RHP LSU
6 Michael Wacha RHP Texas A&M
7 Mike Zunino C Florida
8 Max Fried LHP Harvard Westlake (Calif.) High
9 Albert Almora OF Mater (Fla.) Academy
10 Kyle Zimmer RHP USF
11 Marcus Stroman RHP Duke
12 David Dahl OF Oak Mountain (Ala.) High 1
3 Courtney Hawkins OF Carroll (Texas) High
14 Andrew Heaney LHP Oklahoma State
15 Lance McCullers Jr. RHP Jesuit (Fla.) High
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/albert_chen/05/22/byron.buxton/index.html#ixzz1vdAnGe29

[NovaScotian]

I got to see Alex Hassan last week during the Bulls' series against the PawSox. Really, I was only there to watch Matsui vs Dice-K, but it was nice to get a chance to see Alex too - he got a hit in the game I saw, but was only 2 for 15 in the series and is batting just .234 on the season. It might be that he just got to AAA too fast, but hopefully he can stick around.

I am really waiting for Nate Freiman, a 1B in the Padres organization, to hit the majors. He is gigantic, like 6'6'' or something, and hits for both average and power (.298 BA, 14 dingers, .963 OPS in 43 games of AA this year). Mark my words, he's gonna kill it in the big leagues one day. Also, I had a class with him and he was very kind and a much better student than most kids in the class.

[jimsumner]

I got to see Alex Hassan last week during the Bulls' series against the PawSox. Really, I was only there to watch Matsui vs Dice-K, but it was nice to get a chance to see Alex too - he got a hit in the game I saw, but was only 2 for 15 in the series and is batting just .234 on the season. It might be that he just got to AAA too fast, but hopefully he can stick around.

I am really waiting for Nate Freiman, a 1B in the Padres organization, to hit the majors. He is gigantic, like 6'6'' or something, and hits for both average at power (.298 BA, 14 dingers, .963 OPS in 43 games of AA this year). Mark my words, he's gonna kill it in the big leagues one day. Also, I had a class with him and he was very kind and a much better student than most kids in the class.

Freiman was listed at 6-8, 250 at Duke.

[awhom111]

Freiman is listed at 6'7" and 225 on the Minor League Baseball website. I don't know whether the differences are good or bad.

Michael Ness is playing in one of the Indy leagues as he pitches for the Newark Bears of the Canadian-American Association.

[tommy]

Giving up just two hits in seven innings and striking out eight, Chris Capuano handcuffed the 'stros today as the Dodgers beat Houston 5-1. With the win, Chris moves to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.14. Not too shabby.

[Indoor66]

Giving up just two hits in seven innings and striking out eight, Chris Capuano handcuffed the 'stros today as the Dodgers beat Houston 5-1. With the win, Chris moves to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.14. Not too shabby.

Keep that up and you are in Cy Young territory.

[burnspbesq]

Giving up just two hits in seven innings and striking out eight, Chris Capuano handcuffed the 'stros today as the Dodgers beat Houston 5-1. With the win, Chris moves to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.14. Not too shabby.

Where was this when he was a Met? Grumble, grumble, spit on the ground, curse.

[awhom111]

Dennis O'Grady has moved from High A ball to Low A with Fort Wayne in the Midwest League.

Also, next week we will get to see where the next crop of Duke players end up as the draft is from Monday to Wednesday. The MLB Network will have the 1st round and some compensatory picks on Monday at 7:00pm Eastern. The next two days start at 12:00pm Eastern and can be followed on the MLB website.

[75Crazie]

I'm afraid my Rockies were not kind to Capuano tonight. 5 1/3 innings, 8 hits, 7 runs (only 4 earned). As usual, probably will be blamed on altitude.

[awhom111]

Marcus Stroman to the Blue Jays. Wonder if we will see him in the majors this year? I suppose it depends on how their season is going as the months go on.

[Son of Jarhead]

Marcus Stroman to the Blue Jays. Wonder if we will see him in the majors this year? I suppose it depends on how their season is going as the months go on.

I would think it is a good possibility, as I have read that some scouts think he could (see Herald-Sun link below), but we'll have to wait and see. Best of luck to Marcus! :D I just know that my cousin Craig, who pitched for Duke in the 70's, is smiling down from above today with pride in old DU.

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18855630/article-Duke%E2%80%99s-Stroman-drafted-by-Blue-Jays-in-first-round?

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205436261&DB_OEM_ID=4200

[chrishoke]

I would think it is a good possibility, as I have read that some scouts think he could (see Herald-Sun link below), but we'll have to wait and see. Best of luck to Marcus! :D I just know that my cousin Craig, who pitched for Duke in the 70's, is smiling down from above today with pride in old DU.

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18855630/article-Duke%E2%80%99s-Stroman-drafted-by-Blue-Jays-in-first-round?

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205436261&DB_OEM_ID=4200


Great accomplishment for Marcus. We are very proud of you!

[juise]

Here's a nice read from ESPN (http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8020289/dodgers-battery-mates-chris-capuano-aj-ellis-exceeding-expectations) on Chris Capuano and his battery mate, A.J. Ellis.

[awhom111]

Will Piwnica-Worms starts at the Rookie level for the Nationals' Gulf Coast League Affiliate.

David Putman also start in Rookie ball at Great Falls in the Pioneer League for the White Sox.

Everyone else is still at the same level as was last mentioned in the thread.

[awhom111]

Jeremy Gould is closing for the Mets' short-season A-ball affiliate in the New York-Penn league in Brooklyn.

[awhom111]

After just one game, Jeremy Gould has been moved to regular A ball at Savannah in the South Atlantic League.

Jim Gallagher, who was struggling to hit at AAA has been sent down to AA with Birmingham in the Southern League.

[awhom111]

Greg Burke has moved from AA to the Orioles' AAA affiliate at Norfolk.

[awhom111]

Ah, the life of a minor league catcher. Ryan McCurdy is at his third team this year after moving to Lexington, Kentucky in the Class A South Atlantic League.

[awhom111]

Marcus Stroman has signed with the Blue Jays. Here is the article from MLB.com:
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120703&content_id=34381374&vkey=news_tor&c_id=tor

A $1.8 Million signing bonus is pretty good stuff. Is it paid in American dollars or Canadian ones?

[sagegrouse]

Marcus Stroman has signed with the Blue Jays. Here is the article from MLB.com:
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120703&content_id=34381374&vkey=news_tor&c_id=tor

A $1.8 Million signing bonus is pretty good stuff. Is it paid in American dollars or Canadian ones?

Interesting throw-away question re exchange rates. The bid-ask differential is 0.98-1.01 between US and Canadian dollars. So, for now, one-to-one. Either party, I suppose, could hedge the exchange rate by going into the forward market.

sagegrouse

[awhom111]

Jim Gallagher is back at AAA Charlotte after a short time in AA.

I read one article suggesting that Marcus Stroman is in for a short stay at short-season A ball in Vancouver before being fast-tracked to AA. Also, his contract is apparently denominated in US currency.

[dukebsbll14]

Jim Gallagher is back at AAA Charlotte after a short time in AA.

Saw Gallagher play on the 4th. Had two doubles and threw out a runner at home on a sac fly. I should probably go to more Knights games and he'll make the big club sooner!

[awhom111]

Ryan McCurdy is back up at AA Corpus Christi enjoying the life of a minor league backup catcher.

Marcus Stroman has settled down in his last few relief appearances after being hit around a bit in his first few professional games.

[awhom111]

Marcus Stroman has been promoted to AA New Hampshire.

A couple guys have hit the minor league 7 day disabled list so we hope they recover and can play again soon.

[awhom111]

With the PCL regular season over, Danny Otero is back up in the big leagues and he got thrown right back into the fire today against the Diamondbacks.

[johnb]

Ben Grisz was playing earlier in the year. Not sure he still is.

[johnb]

A review of Duke alums in the pro's from GoDuke.com:
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=205502031

[loran16]

A review of Duke alums in the pro's from GoDuke.com:
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=205502031

An old article, or it would surely note the sad fact that Stroman is suspended 50 games for PEDs (he blames a supplement).

[awhom111]

Nate Freiman is playing with Peoria in the Arizona Fall League after the Padres put him on the roster for some more baseball. He was DH for the first game and then at 1B for the second game.

[awhom111]

Nate Freiman is a champion after his Peoria Javelinas beat Salt Rive 4-3 in the championship of the Arizona Fall League today:
http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_box&gid=2012_11_17_perwin_srrwin_1

In the regular season of the league he hit .266 in 21 games (out of 32 games). All this extra baseball should be a good experience for him going forwards.
http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&sid=l119&cid=490

[91devil]

Nate Freiman was chosen in the MLB Rule V Draft today by the Houston Astros (from the San Diego Padres). As has been noted in recent posts in this thread, Nate had been quietly (for a guy 6'7" tall) putting up very good numbers through the Padres' minor league system. I think his being selected by the Astros (whom many believe is almost an expansion team at this point) is a terrific career move for Nate, as has an excellent chance to stick as either a first baseman or, perhaps, a designated hitter.

[awhom111]

Great article on Greg Burke:
http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2013/02/mets_greg_burke.html

Less great news. I will let you guess what type of injury:
http://nesn.com/2013/02/report-red-sox-prospect-alex-hassan-wont-be-ready-for-start-of-camp-because-of-stress-fracture-in-foot/

We still have a pretty solid group of Duke players on 40 man rosters and should have a few make opening day rosters.

[awhom111]

Nate Freiman was put on waivers by the Astros and my A's claimed him.

[awhom111]

Opening Day Rosters:
Chris Capuano (Dodgers)
Greg Burke (Mets)
Nate Freiman (A's)

40 Man Rosters:
Danny Otero (A's)
Alex Hassan (Red Sox)

Presumably we will get some more answers for minor leaguers this week.

[awhom111]

Nate Freiman drives in a run in his first major league at-bat and then gets another hit his second time up. He should be getting starts when the A's face left handed starters.

Greg Burke also made his Mets debut tonight.

Minor leagues start tomorrow so I will get the latest on various assignments soon.

[dukebsbll14]

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25988397&partnerId=as_mlb_20130404_6867984

GO NATE!

[awhom111]

A handful of players have already gotten their minor league assignments and started their seasons.

Alex Hassan is on the disabled list at Pawtucket. I think it is a different injury than the one that sidelined him during Spring Training.

Danny Otero is at AAA Sacramento after the A's also designated him for assignment.

Jimmy Gallagher is back at AAA Charlotte for the White Sox.

Jake Lemmerman was part of a trade that moved him from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, where he did get a few at-bats late in Spring Training. He is now with their AA affiliate Springfield in the Texas League.

Dennis O'Grady is back at high A Lake Elsinore at the Padres' California League affiliate.

Does anyone know how many more games Marcus Stroman is suspended for?

[awhom111]

Chris Manno is back at Pensacola with the Reds' AA affiliate.

Ryan McCurdy is with Corpus Christi, the AA affiliate of the Astros.

Will Piwnica-Worms has been assigned to the Nationals' affiliate in Potomac, in High A ball.

[awhom111]

Chris Capuano is on the DL.

Ryan McCurdy is at High A Lancaster in the California League (the life of a minor-league catcher).

Will Piwnica-Worms played a few games at Hagerstown in the Low A South Atlantic League, but is back at Potomac.

[awhom111]

I missed the Mets sending Greg Burke down to AAA Las Vegas.

Will Piwnica-Worms is at Hagerstown again.

[awhom111]

The Mets recalled Greg Burke over the weekend.

Everyone else is still in their last listed place. Alex Hassan is still on the minor league disabled list and Marcus Stroman is still serving out his suspension.

[awhom111]

Marcus Stroman made a solid season debut in a start for AA New Hampshire.

[Dev11]

Nate Freiman won the AL Rookie of the Month award!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130603&content_id=49496286&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

Keep in mind that Nate thought he would be fighting for a roster spot on the Astros in February. Not bad

[sagegrouse]

Nate Freiman won the AL Rookie of the Month award!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130603&content_id=49496286&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

Keep in mind that Nate thought he would be fighting for a roster spot on the Astros in February. Not bad

Salient quote:


Freiman batted .351 (13-for-37) with three doubles, one home run and nine RBI in 14 games, tallying four multi-hit games during the stretch.

Spouse Amanda Blumenhurst finished T-13 at the Shop-Rite LPGA event in Atlantic City and won $22,000. She scored 66-75-75 in the three-day event.

sagegrouse

[Dev11]

Spouse Amanda Blumenhurst finished T-13 at the Shop-Rite LPGA event in Atlantic City and won $22,000. She scored 66-75-75 in the three-day event.

So who has to do the dishes this week?

[Jim3k]

John Shea of the SF Chron's A's Blog: (http://blog.sfgate.com/athletics/2013/06/05/as-series-finale-doolittle-keeps-role-lineup-to-change-in-chicago-melvin-on-moss/)


—– When Chris Carter was dealt, Brandon Moss was to be the everyday first baseman and start against both lefties and righties. But the presence of Freiman, not to mention Moss’ recent struggles, has made platooning an easy call.

“Once we got Freiman . . . he’s not just going to sit there,” Melvin said. “There was a time Brandon Moss was getting more at-bats against lefties when he was swinging really well. Recently, he hasn’t been swinging as well, and you’ve got to factor that in. You look at the numbers Freiman has off left-handed pitching (.340, 14 RBIs in 53 at-bats), it’s very good. So we match up the best we can.
“Brandon Moss will get some at-bats against left-handers here, too. He’s going to get hot again, there’s no doubt about it. His batting practices are better. He hit a home run here the other night. He’s going to get hot again, so there will be times he’ll get at-bats against lefties, but based on the fact Freiman has done well against left-handed pitching, he’s going to get the brunt of the at-bats.”



Stay tuned. Nate's gonna play a lot, beginning Thursday.

[awhom111]

Ryan McCurdy joins Chris Capuano on the disabled list.

Alex Hassan was finally able to make his season debut for the Red Sox Low A affiliate in Greenville, SC.

[awhom111]

Alex Hassan is finally able to play at AAA Pawtucket.

Michael Ness is pitching in the Independent CAMA again with the Newark Bears.

[awhom111]

I missed one earlier as the A's put Danny Otero on the 40 man roster and called him up to relieve their bullpen crunch. He reunited with his old college teammate Nate Freiman tonight and had a tougher time than he had back in AAA where he was putting up insanely efficient closer stats.

[Jim3k]

I missed one earlier as the A's put Danny Otero on the 40 man roster and called him up to relieve their bullpen crunch. He reunited with his old college teammate Nate Freiman tonight and had a tougher time than he had back in AAA where he was putting up insanely efficient closer stats.

Prior to the Mariner game last night, the A's sent Hideki Okajima down and called up Otero. In relief of Tommy Milone, Otero struck out Jason Bay to end the 7th. The 8th became a problem, mostly because Raul Ibanez is too much for just about anyone with runners in scoring position. Otero had started off the inning by allowing two soft singles, then got two outs. But Ibanez did what Ibanez does. He singled to drive in a run. Then Otero struck out rookie catcher Mike Zunino. So Otero went 1-1/3 innings, gave up 3 hits and 1 earned run; 2 strikeouts, no walks. Threw in the low 90's. Not a great debut on such short notice, but he looked comfortable.

Mariners won. 3-2. Maybe Otero will do better in Oakland than he did last year with the Giants. There he only pitched 12 innings in 12 games. Waived in the spring, with the Yankees claiming and then releasing him. As Andrew notes, he's done well in Sacramento. There's reason for optimism, but we'll see.

Blue Devil fans will have to root for the A's for a while. ;) Or, at least, for two of our own.

[awhom111]

Chris Capuano and Ryan McCurdy are back off the disabled list.

The Mets sent Greg Burke back to AAA Las Vegas.

David Putman's season has started with Great Falls in the Rookie level Pioneer League

Jeff Kremer joined Rockford of the Independent Frontier League.

[awhom111]

Greg Burke is back with the Mets now.

[awhom111]

Shortly after I posted that, the Mets sent Greg Burke back to AAA to Las Vegas. It looks like he is the one who moves when the Mets need another starter.

[awhom111]

Greg Burke was brought back up by the Mets, probably related to the reliever crunch they will have after yesterday's game.

Belated congratulations to Danny Otero on his first Major League win.

[awhom111]

The Mets sent Greg Burke back down to Las Vegas earlier in the week.

Jim Gallagher is on the disabled list.

[Jim3k]

This afternoon, I attended the A's-Angels weirdfest (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/cespedes-helps-rally-beat-angels-000250955--mlb.html) at the Oakland Coliseum (check that linescore and the number of pitches Jerrod Parker threw). The A's used four pitchers with Danny Otero being brought in to mop up the mess in the top of the 9th. At that point, the A's led 10-6. Otero faced four batters. He did a creditable job, first striking out Josh Hamilton and then getting Howie Kendrick to ground to second. Kendrick had started the scoring back in the first with his two-run single. Then, Mark Trumbo took Otero to school with a nasty double into right. But...Otero was up to the task. He threw Alberto Callaspo something filthy and down, returning the schooling. The grounder went straight to Sogard at deep second, who threw Callaspo out at first. End of game.

Otero seems to me to have pretty good stuff. He's more than a junkman, showing power in the 90s against Hamilton and Kendrick. He seemed to have good location. Both Hamilton and Kendrick did some chasing of off-speed stuff. Looks like he's learning speed-changing from Bartolo Colon. Colon is well known for his varied fastball speeds. If the lesson sticks, rookie Otero may have a career in the majors.

[awhom111]

Ryan McCurdy is back to being the backup catcher up at AA Corpus Christi.

[awhom111]

David Putman has been promoted to low A Kannapolis.

Jimmy Gallagher is off the disabled list and back in action.

[awhom111]

The Mets have recalled Greg Burke.

Jake Lemmerman and Alex Hassan were both put on the disabled list. That would appear to end any possibility of the latter being a September callup.

On the other hand, Ben Grisz has finally recovered enough from a long period out to make his first appearance for Auburn the Nationals' Class A Short-Season New York-Penn League affiliate.

[jv001]

The Mets have recalled Greg Burke.

Jake Lemmerman and Alex Hassan were both put on the disabled list. That would appear to end any possibility of the latter being a September callup.

On the other hand, Ben Grisz has finally recovered enough from a long period out to make his first appearance for Auburn the Nationals' Class A Short-Season New York-Penn League affiliate.

Jake has not had a good minor league season with the Cardinals. Last time I looked he was hitting in the low .200s and had made 22 errors. Ryan Jackson the shortstop for the parent team Memphis had made 9 errors and was hitting .286. So far the trade between the Dodgers who received Skip Shumaker has been a terrible trade for my Cardinals. But I'm rooting for the Duke guy to get it going. He could have been injured and tried to play through it. GoDuke!

[awhom111]

It was a short stint in the big leagues this time for Greg Burke as the Mets send him back to Las Vegas after one game.

[awhom111]

Jake Lemmerman is off the disabled list but Ryan McCurdy was put on it.

[awhom111]

All of our players are now healthy.

Will Piwnica-Worms has been promoted to High A Potomac returning there after a few months.

[awhom111]

The Mets recalled Greg Burke.

[awhom111]

I have not updated this in a while, but Marcus Stroman was chosen by the Blue Jays for the Arizona Fall League.