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.