Magnuson traded to A’s; Wade signs with Rays; Dials signs with Marlins; Webb garners free-agent interest

Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball

The Kentucky hot stove league kicked into full drive on Wednesday with a bevy of breaking news, most of which came via Twitter. Here’s a quick rundown of the pertinent news:

Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors reports former UofL right-handed pitcher Trystan Magnuson has been traded to the Oakland Athletics as part of the Rajai Davis deal.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets former Kentucky Wesleyan right-handed pitcher Cory Wade, who excelled during 2008 with the Dodgers, has signed a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Eddy also reports via Twitter that former UK right-handed pitcher Zach Dials has signed a minor-league contract with the Florida Marlins.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports the Dodgers, Pirates, Twins and Rangers have all expressed interest in former UK right-handed pitcher and Ashland native Brandon Webb. Crasnick notes the Nationals, Reds and Cardinals may also be interested.

Kentucky Minor League Free Agents

Minor League Baseball

Wladimir Balentien; Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Matt Eddy of Baseball America recently posted the complete list of Minor League free agents and several Kentuckians are on the list. I’ve copied the Kentucky MiLB free agents below with organization and 2010 team:

RHP Jesus Delgado — Cincinnati Reds — AAA Louisville Bats
RHP Jason Isringhausen — Cincinnati Reds — AAA Louisville
RHP Chad Reineke — Cincinnati Reds — AAA Louisville
C Wilkin Castillo — Cincinnati Reds — AAA Louisville
OF Wladimir Balentien — Cincinnati Reds — AAA Louisville
OF Sean Henry — Cincinnati Reds — AAA Louisville
OF Luis Terrero — Cincinnati Reds — AAA Louisville
RHP Matt Wilhite (WKU) — Colorado Rockies — AAA Colorado Springs
C Neil Wilson (Covington) — Florida Marlins — AAA New Orleans
RHP Cory Wade (Ky Wesleyan) — Los Angeles Dodgers — AAA Albuquerque
3B Neil Sellers (EKU) — Philadelphia Phillies — AAA Lehigh Valley
LHP Zach Jackson (UofL) — Toronto Blue Jays — AAA Las Vegas
RHP Zach Dials (UK) — Washington Nationals — AA Harrisburg

You can see the full MiLB free agent list here.

Kentucky in MiLB Playoffs

Minor League Baseball

Colling Cowgill; Photo: UK Athletics

League playoffs from across Minor League Baseball are set to begin this week. Last week we looked at the Kentucky alumni participating in rookie league playoffs, so I thought I’d do the same for the other minor leagues:

Pacific Coast League (AAA)

Tacoma Rainers — Josh Lueke

International League (AAA)

Louisville Bats — Matt Klinker
Columbus Clippers — Jeremy Sowers (DL)

Texas League (AA)

Springfield Cardinals — Antone DeJesus

Eastern League (AA)

New Hampshire Fisher Cats — Trystan Magnuson
Harrisburg Senators — Zach Dials

Southern League (AA)

Tennessee Smokies — Chris Rusin (DL)
Jacksonville Suns — Graham Taylor (DL)
Mobile BayBears — Collin Cowgill, Sean Coughlin, Josh Ellis

California League (High A)

Stockton Ports — Justin Marks
High Desert Mavericks — Jake Shaffer
Ranch Cucamonga Quakes — Jon Townsend

Florida State League (High A)

Dunedin Blue Jays — Justin McClanahan
Bradenton Marauders — Jordan Newton, Nathan Adcock

Carolina League (High A)

Winston-Salem Dash — Logan Johnson, Nathan Jones, Greg Paiml
Kinston Indians — Marty Popham

Midwest League (Low A)

Great Lakes Loons — J. B. Paxson
Quad City River Bandits — Dean Kiekhefer, Daniel Calhoun
Clinton Lumber Kings — Tyler Blandford (DL)
West Michigan Whitecaps — Wade Gaynor, Patrick Cooper

South Atlantic League (Low A)

Hickory Crawdads — Jonathan Roof

Northwest League (Short-Season)

Spokane Indians — Andrew Clark, Josh Richmond

Pioneer League (Rookie)

Great Falls Voyagers — Thomas Royse

MiLB Roundup: Bats, Legends win; Hot Rods lose; Rusin, Holland, Ellis Win; Shaffer, Townsend homer

Minor League Baseball

Chris Rusin; Photo: UK Athletics

Highlights from Thursday Kentucky MiLB action:

The Louisville Bats slugged four home runs en route to an 11-7 win over Charlotte. First baseman Yonder Alonso, designated hitter Juan Francisco, outfielder Chris Dickerson and outfielder Wladimir Balentein each homered for the Bats.
Lexington Legends closer Kirk Clark set the new Legends career and single-season saves record with his 22nd save in a 3-2 win over Rome. Right-handed pitcher Jose Cisnero earned the win after surrendering two runs in six innings.
The Bowling Green Hot Rods couldn’t over come and early 5-1 deficit after two innings in a 8-7 loss to Quad Cities. First baseman Ryan Wiegand and right fielder Gabe Cohen each homered for the Hot Rods.
Former UK left-handed pitcher Chris Rusin earned his fourth win of the season for high A Daytona after surrendering three runs in six innings. Rusin struck out six and walked none.
Former UK right-handed pitcher Zach Dials was promoted to AA Harrisburg where he surrendered one run in two-thirds of an inning in his debut.
Former UofL right-handed pitcher and 2010 Nationals draftee Neil Holland earned his second win of the season with three scoreless innings for short-season Vermont.
Former UofL infielder and 2010 Rays draftee Phil Wunderlich was 3-5 with two doubles and a run scored for short-season Hudson Valley.
Former WKU outfielder Chad Cregar was 2-4 with a double, three RBI and a run scored for low A Greensboro.
Former NKU outfielder Jake Shaffer homered for the second consecutive game and drove in three runs for high A High Desert.
Lexington Catholic alum Ben Revere scored three times, tallied two hits and stole a base for AA New Britain.
London native Jon Townsend slugged his fifth home run of the season, drove in two runs and scored twice for high A Rancho Cucamonga.
Lexington native Josh Ellis picked up his second win of the season after two scoreless innings of relief for AA Mobile.

All BluGrass Baseball Team: Ky. Alumni

Minor League Baseball

Sawyer Carroll; Photo: UK Athletics

In the second installment of the 2009 “All BluGrass Baseball Team” we’ll look at alumni of Kentucky schools in the minor leagues.

Catcher — A. J. Ellis — PLD HS — AAA Albuquerque — .314, 48 runs, 39 RBI, .438 On-Base
First Base — Ryan Strieby — UK — AA Erie — .303, 19 HR, 58 RBI
Second Base — Seth Bynum — Louisville, Ky. — AAA Syracuse — .267, 20 HR, 69 RBI
Third Base — Tyler Sellers — EKU — AA Reading — .317, 17 HR, 86 RBI
Shortstop — Chris Burke — St. X — AAA Richmond — .279, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 15 SB
Left Field — Tyler Kuhn — Trinity HS — High A Winston-Salem — .289, 55 R, 46 RBI, 26 SB
Center Field — Ben Revere — Lexington, Ky. — High A Fort Meyers — .311, 2 HR, 48 RBI, 75 Runs, 45 SB
Right Field — Sawyer Carroll — UK — AA San Antonio — .317, 8 HR, 96 RBI
Designated Hitter — Michael Bertram — UK — AA Erie — .282, 18 HR, 77 RBI
Starting Pitcher 1 — Christian Friedrich — EKU — High A Modesto — 6-5, 2.41, 159 SO, 119.2 IP
Starting Pitcher 2 — Robbie Ross — Lexington, Ky. — Short-Season Spokane — 4-4, 2.66, 76 SO, 74.1 IP
Starting Pitcher 3 — Chaz Roe — Lexington, Ky. — AA Tulsa — 7-3, 3.15, 77 SO, 117 IP
Starting Pitcher 4 — Daniel Calhoun — Murray State — Short-Season Batavia — 2-0, 1.86, 42 SO, 48.1 IP
Starting Pitcher 5 — Marty Popham — Union — Short-Season Mahoning Valley — 6-1, 2.76, 83 SO, 75 IP
Closer — B. J. Rosenberg — UofL — AA Reading — 7-3, 1.18, 22 saves, 73 So, 61 IP

Notes: As with the KY minor league team, relief pitcher was the most competitive spot. In addition to Rosenberg, who was selected to represent the U.S. on the World Cup team, Zach Dials, Scott Green, Trystan Magnuson, Nathan Jones and Keith Butler also posted excellent numbers out of the bullpen. Collin Cowgill and Sean Coughlin are probably better prospects at their positions than the representative on this team, but both missed significant time due to an injury.

2006 Cats: Where Are They Now?

College Baseball, Minor League Baseball

UK Athletics Wallpaper

The 2006 season was the crowning achievment in the revitalization of UK baseball. The Cats won the Southeastern Conference Championship and featured the 2006 SEC player of the year in 1b Ryan Strieby and national coach of the year John Cohen. The 2008 minor league sesaon has seen a reunion of Strieby and 3b Michael Bertram at AA Erie. With that reunion in mind I thought we’d look at where the members of the 2006 championship team are in the minor leagues.

1B Ryan Strieby — AA Erie Sea Wolves — .302, 14 home runs, 53 RBI — 2006 Stats — .343, 20 home runs, 77 RBI
3B Michael Bertram — AA Erie Sea Wolves — .282, 12 home runs, 55 RBI — 2006 Stats — .340, 5 home runs, 37 RBI
C Sean Coughlin — AA Mobile BayBears — .287, 11 home runs, 40 RBI — 2006 Stats — .325, 17 home runs, 55 RBI
OF Antone DeJesus — AA Springfield Cardinals — .229, 1 home run, 19 RBI — 2006 Stats —.323, 5 home runs, 36 RBI
OF John Shelby — AA Birmingham Barons — .242, 8 home runs, 46 RBI — 2006 Stats — .291, 18 home runs, 56 RBI
OF Collin Cowgill — High A Visalia Rawhide — .277, 6 home runs, 36 RBI — 2006 Stats — .298, 16 home runs, 61 RBI
RHP Zach Dials — AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats — 1-4, 2.36 ERA, 28 SO, 42 IP — 2006 Stats — 1-1, 3.97, 25 SO, 34 IP
LHP Chris Rusin — Short-Season Boise Hawks — 0-3, 2.74 ERA, 20 SO, 23 IP — 2006 Stats — 5-0, 4.03 ERA, 25 SO, 38 IP
RHP Greg Dombrowski — Rookie GCL Reds — Disabled List — 2006 Stats — 10-2, 2.83 ERA, 54 SO, 101.2 IP
LHP Andrew Albers — Rookie AZL Padres — Disabled List — 2006 Stats — 3-3, 5.40 ERA, 28 SO, 30 IP