Monday, July 26, 2010

Shaw in Cape Cod League ...

Gabriel Shaw wasn't expecting to be pitching in the Cape Cod League this summer, but managed to find a spot in the league after not being picked in Major League Baseball's amateur draft last month.

Shaw, a St. Mary product and one of the top relief pitchers for the University of Louisville's nationally-ranked team, is pitching out of the bullpen for Yarmouth-Dennis — in three appearances, Shaw is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a save. In four innings, he has allowed six hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

Earlier this summer, Shaw made one start for the Marion Bobcats of the Kitty League to get in some work, allowing two runs in seven innings.

Wright makes Cape Cod all-star game ...

Heath product Chad Wright will play in the Cape Cod League all-star game on Wednesday night at Fenway Park in Boston.

Wright, a University of Kentucky star who is fifth in the league in hitting with a .296 batting average, was originally named as the starting center fielder for the West Division team, but Scott Woodward (who is fourth in the league with a .308 mark) was given the nod.

His performance has probably helped his draft status for next season — Wright, the starting left fielder for the Wildcats the last two seasons, could move to center field next year to replace the graduated Keenan Wiley.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Minor league updates ...

Former St. Mary shortstop Jonathan Roof spent a week with the Texas Rangers' rookie-level team in Arizona and was promoted to the Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads of the Low-A South Atlantic League. Roof could make his debut tonight at Applebee's Park in Lexington as Hickory is in town for a series with the Lexington Legends.

Roof hit .357 (5-for-14) in six games in Arizona after recovering from a broken rib suffered late in the spring when he was playing at Michigan State.

Both of his brothers are playing in the Detroit Tigers' organization. Infielder Shawn Roof is hitting .229 for Double-A Erie (Pa.) and catcher Eric Roof is now at Connecticut in the rookie-level New York-Penn League. Roof started the year at Low-A West Michigan, where he hit .233, and is now playing more regularly at Connecticut, where he is hitting .245 with a homer and nine RBI in 49 at-bats.

Former Murray State star Wes Cunningham, in the San Diego Padres' organization, is playing first base at Eugene (Ore.) in the rookie-level Northwest League. Cunningham is hitting .281 with two homers and 12 RBI in 64 at-bats.

The rest of the local pro contingent does its work on the mound. Former Pope County (Ill.) pitcher Mike Broadway is having a good year as a reliever for Mississippi, the Atlanta Braves' Double-A team. Broadway is 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA with 14 walks and 37 strikeouts in 29 innings.

Brandon Braboy, a Heath product, is on the disabled list at Tampa, the New York Yankees' high-A team. Braboy was 0-0 with a 3.57 ERA, allowing 31 hits in 22 innings.

Two of his former Heath teammates are pitching in short-season leagues. Daniel Webb, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays last year, is 0-2 with a 5.32 ERA in the first five starts of his pro career for Auburn (N.Y.) in the New York-Penn League. Webb has allowed 27 hits in 23 innings with only six walks and 15 strikeouts.

Clint Tilford is 3-1 with a 7.43 ERA for Tri-Cities (Wash.) in the Colorado Rockies chain. Tilford has pitched 13 innings, all in relief, with five walks and 16 strikeouts.

Former Murray State ace left-hander Daniel Calhoun is with the St. Louis Cardinals' Low-A team in Quad Cities of the Midwest League. Calhoun has split time between the rotation and the bullpen, going 5-0 with a 4.18 ERA. He has allowed 72 hits in 60 innings with only 10 walks and 48 strikeouts.