Joe Blanton; Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Several important notes to pass along on what has turned out to be a busy Thursday afternoon for Kentucky baseball:

• University of Kentucky and Franklin-Simpson High School alum Joe Blanton will start the season on the disabled list for the Philadelphia Phillies. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports Blanton will miss three to six weeks with a strained oblique.
• Former UK pitcher James Paxton has signed with the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the independent American Association. The team’s season starts in May, so Paxton will have about three weeks to impress scouts before the June draft.
• Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports UK alum and Ashland native Brandon Webb met with D’Backs team doctors today for an examination of his surgically repaired right-shoulder. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com later tweeted Webb received good news and a May return is “highly likely.”
• Minor League transactions of note from Baseball America: The Astros have released Western Kentucky University alum Ben Paxton, and the Padres have released UK alum Andrew Albers. Paxton signed with the Astros after excelling in indy ball in 2009 but never pitched in a Minor League game, and Albers missed all of 2009 with an arm injury.