Bisons' Barton selected by Cardinals in Rule 5 Draft
Bisons' outfielder Brian Barton has been selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 10th pick in Major League portion of today's Rule 5 Draft.
In 25 games with Buffalo in 2007, Barton hit .264 (23-87) with a home run and seven RBI. Prior to joining the Herd, he was an Eastern League All-Star with Double-A Akron last season. Barton hit .314 (122-389) with nine home runs, 59RBI, 20 stolen bases and a .416 on-base percentage with the Aeros.
FORT MILL, S.C. - December 6, 2007 - The Chicago White Sox used the Rule 5 draft to add pitching depth to their minor league system by selecting pitcher Santo Luis from the Houston Astros.
Luis posted a 4.66 ERA over 44 games for the Class A Lexington Legends in 2007, but he also struck out 99 in 75 1/3 innings, averaging 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings, and held opponents to a .228 average.
Luis possesses a power arm and throws a 94 mph fastball. He was selected 8th overall in the Triple-A portion of the draft, and was placed on the Charlotte Knights roster.
The White Sox organization lost five players in the draft. None of which had ever reached the Triple-A level.
The Charlotte Knights are the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. For ticket or event information, please contact the Knights front office at (704) 357-8071 or (803) 548-8050 or visit our website at Welcome to charlotteknights.com for more information.
Jay Bruce Named Reds' Minor League Player Of The Year
CINCINNATI - OF Jay Bruce has been named winner of the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award as the Cincinnati Reds' Minor League Player of the Year for 2007. He will receive his award tonight at 5:15 p.m. at Duke Energy Center downtown during ceremonies on the main stage at Redsfest.
RHP Johnny Cueto was named the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year and IF Adam Rosales the team's Minor League Hitter of the Year.
Bruce, 20, will enter the 2008 season rated by Baseball America as the top prospect in the organization. In 2007 he also was named Minor League Player of the Year by both Baseball America and Sporting News after hitting .319 with 46 doubles, 8 triples, 26hr and 89rbi at Class A Sarasota, Class AA Chattanooga and Class AAA Louisville. He played for the U.S. team in Major League Baseball's prestigious All-Star Futures Game.
Last season the Texas native led all Reds minor leaguers in homers, ranked among the organizational leaders in batting average (2nd) and RBI (3rd) and ranked among all minor league players in extra-base hits (80, 2nd), total bases (306, 2nd), doubles (T7th), hits (166, 10th) and slugging percentage (.587, 14th).
Bruce finished the 2007 season ranked as the top prospect in the organization, International League and Florida State League. In Baseball America's post-season tools survey, he was rated the best hitter for average and best power hitter in the Reds' minor league system.
Bruce was selected by the Reds with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the June 2005 first-year player draft. He was scouted and signed by the late Brian Wilson.
Cueto, 21, won the organization's top minor league pitching award for the second straight season. In 28 starts at 3 different levels he combined to go 12-9 with a 3.07 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 161.1 innings. Cueto led all Reds minor leaguers in ERA and strikeouts and ranked third in victories.
Rosales, 24, last season was a Florida State League All-Star after hitting .294 with 5 HR, 48 RBI and 9 steals at Class A Sarasota. He also hit .278 with 13 HR, 31 RBI and 4 stolen bases at Class AA Chattanooga.
The organization's minor league player of the year award is named after Sheldon "Chief" Bender, who spent 64 years in baseball. He spent his last 39 years in the game with the Reds in their scouting and player development departments.
Richmond, VA - Dave Brundage, who managed the Richmond Braves to the 2007 International League championship, will return to the helm for a second season in 2008.
Brundage led the Braves to the Governors' Cup and a 77-64 regular season record in his first season managing the Braves. 22 of the 59 players who suited up for Richmond in 2007 earned major league promotions. He has a 730-669 (.521) record in 10 seasons of minor league managing. Three of his clubs have won league championships.
He will be joined by former Richmond manager (1992) and long-time major player (1970-1988) Chris Chambliss as hitting coach. Chambliss returns to the Braves organization after spending 2003-2006 as the batting coach for the Cincinnati Reds. He has also coached at the big league level with the New York Yankees (1988, 1996-2000) and St. Louis Cardinals (1993-'95). Chambliss is a former American League Rookie of the Year (1971) and Gold Glove winner (1978).
Guy Hansen returns as pitching coach. He was the pitching coach for the last two R-Braves clubs to advance to the Governors' Cup Finals (2004 and '07). Hansen is in his ninth season with the Braves organization and 2008 will be his sixth season in Richmond. He has had two stints as a big league pitching coach with the Kansas City Royals (1991-'92 and 2005). Both Hansen and Chambliss played college baseball at UCLA.
Mike Graus returns for his third year as trainer. Leon Roberts, the Braves hitting coach last season, will take over as Atlanta's minor league hitting coordinator. Carlos Mendez, who played the last three seasons in Richmond, will be the hitting coach at Danville. Justin Clift, who was the R-Braves home clubhouse manager last season, is now Atlanta's minor league equipment coordinator.
The R-Braves open defense of their IL championship Thursday, April 3, 2008 vs. Rochester. For information on 2008 tickets and corporate partnership opportunities please call the Braves at 359-4444 or visit rbraves.com: Home.
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OMAHA, NE - Craig Brazell, who led the Minor Leagues in home runs in 2007, is heading for Japan. The Kansas City Royals have sold his contract to the Seibu Lions.
Brazell was on hand at the Winter Meetings at Nashville on Monday to pick up his trophy as the 2007 Joe Bauman Round-Tripper Award Winner. In addition to the trophy, he received a check for $7,800 -- $200 for each of the 39 home runs he hit during the 2007 season.
The 27-year old first baseman/DH began last season with Double-A Wichita, smacking seven home runs in just over a month. He was promoted to Triple-A Omaha in early May and belted 13 homers in 22 games that month. He wound up leading the O-Royals with 32 home runs and 33 doubles in 105 games.
By season's end, he not only paced the Minor Leagues in home runs, but also in total bases (326), while ranking third in extra-base hits (77) and tied for third in hits (171). For the season, the left-handed hitter compiled a .315 batting average and a .601 slugging percentage.
Brazell's 32 home runs with Omaha was the 4th-highest season total in team history, while his 33 doubles were tied for 3rd-best and his 262 total bases ranks 5th on the team's single-season charts.
He wound up getting a call-up by Kansas City in September and went 1-for-4 with a walk in five games, his first taste of the big leagues since 2004.
Now, he's off on a new adventure with a one-year contract in Japan. He expects to play first base more than DH. "I felt like it was a good opportunity, hard to turn down," Brazell said. "It'll be fun. I'm looking forward to it actually."
"The Omaha Royals extend our best wishes to Craig," said Royals General Manager Martie Cordaro. "He had a terrific season for our ball club last season and we expect him to become a fan favorite in Japan."
Portland, Maine- The Boston Red Sox have announced the coaching staff for the 2008 Portland Sea Dogs. Arnie Beyeler will return to manage the Sea Dogs and will be joined by returning pitching coach Mike Cather and new hitting coach Dave Joppie. Russ Morman who had served as Portland's hitting coach for the past four seasons will serve as the hitting coach at Triple-A Pawtucket in 2008. Trainer Brad Pearson will also return. Mike Hazen, Boston's Director of Player Development, made the announcement.
The 2008 season will be Beyeler's eighth season as a minor league manager and second with the Portland Sea Dogs. In 2007, Beyeler led the Sea Dogs to a 71-72 record and the Sea Dogs third straight playoff appearance. Beyeler has a lifetime managerial record of 431- 419 (.507). The 43 year-old served as the hitting coach in 2006 for the San Diego Padres Double-A affiliate, the Mobile BayBears. In the fall of 2006 he served as a coach under former Sea Dogs manager Todd Claus with the West Oahu CaneFires in the Hawaiian Winter Baseball League. Previously he spent three years managing in the Texas Rangers organization, where he led the Stockton Ports to the California League playoffs in 2003 and 2004.
The 2008 season will mark Beyeler's fifth season in the Red Sox organization. Prior to joining the Sea Dogs in 2007, Beyeler managed Boston's New York-Penn League team, the Lowell Spinners, in 2000 and 2001 and skippered the South Atlantic League Augusta Green Jackets in 2002. While in the Red Sox organization he managed current Red Sox players Manny Delcarmen, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Kevin Youkilis. Prior to his time with the Red Sox, Beyeler spent three years coaching in the Yankees organization including two seasons with the Eastern League Norwich Navigators (1998, 1999). From 1992-1996, he served as an area scout for the Detroit Tigers.
As a player, he was a middle infielder in the Tigers system from 1986 to 1991 reaching as high as Triple-A Toledo in 1991. In 584 minor league games over six seasons, he batted .254 with 69 stolen bases. His best season came in 1987 where he hit .285 in 127 games at Single-A Fayetteville.
Beyeler is a graduate of Wichita State with a degree in communications. He earned all-conference and all-region honors during his stint with the Shockers. He also has a degree from Lamar (CO) Community College. Beyeler resides in Ponte Verda Beach, Florida.
Mike Cather, 37, returns for his second season as the pitching coach for the Portland Sea Dogs and third season in the Red Sox organization. Cather spent the 2006 season as the pitching coach for the Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks. Previously, he was a private instructor for youth, high school, college, and professional pitchers from 2001-2005. Cather appeared in 75 Major League games over three seasons with the Atlanta Braves posting a 5-6 record with a 3.42 ERA. He was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 41st round of the June 1993 amateur draft.
Dave Joppie, 41, has spent the past two seasons as the Red Sox Class High A hitting coach, serving as the Lancaster JetHawks hitting coach in 2007 and with the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2006. Last season with the JetHawks Joppie led the team to a California League best .296 team average. The team also led the league in home runs (217) and hits (1,081). Previously Joppie managed the Florida Marlins Single-A team in Kane County in 2004 and 2005. In 2004 he led the Kane County Cougars to an 83-56 record and Western Division Championship. He was selected as the Midwest League Manager of the Year and Baseball America's Class Low A Manager of the Year. Joppie has 13 seasons of professional baseball coaching experience, the 2008 season will be his third in the Red Sox organization. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native is an NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA basketball official.
Brad Pearson will return for a second season as the trainer for the Portland Sea Dogs and sixth in the Red Sox organization. In 2006, Pearson served as the trainer of the Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks. Previously, he held the same role with the Single-A Greenville Bombers in 2005 and the Single-A Augusta Green Jackets in 2004. Pearson gained athletic training experience as an intern for the Red Sox Fort Myers Rookie League team in 2001. Pearson has also served as the Head Baseball Athletic Trainer at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2002-2003) and at Holy Cross College in Worcester (2000-2002). The Ludlow, Vermont native attended Springfield College and earned a degree in Athletic Training in 2000.
The Sea Dogs open the 2008 season on April 3rd at New Britain. The home opener is slated for Friday, April 11th at 6:00 PM against the New Britain Rock Cats (Twins). Tickets for the 2008 season are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or on-line at Portland Sea Dogs - Official Web Site.
Don Mincher Elected to Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
MARIETTA, GA - The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs is proud to announce that its president, Don Mincher, has been elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
A two-time American League All-Star who has served as Southern League President since 2000, Mincher will be among eight inductees to gain enshrinement at the 40th annual banquet on May 31, 2008 in Birmingham, AL.
The 69-year-old native of Huntsville is the third modern Southern League President to gain election into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, which was created in 1967. Billy Hitchcock and Jimmy Bragan, who combined to preside over the league from 1971 to 1994, also are members.
In a 13-year major league career that began in 1960 with the Washington Senators, Mincher hit 200 home runs and was recognized as an AL All-Star with the California Angels in 1967 and with the Seattle Pilots in 1969. He connected for at least 20 homers in a season five times, including a career-high 27 blasts as a member of the Oakland Athletics in 1970.
Harmon Killebrew's roommate for several years in the 1960s, Mincher helped lead the Minnesota Twins to the AL pennant in 1965 and homered off Don Drysdale in his first World Series at-bat that October. Though the Twins lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers that season, Mincher collected a World Series ring with the A's seven years later. In his final major league at-bat, Mincher delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in Game Four of the 1972 World Series.
Following a successful business venture as owner of a sporting goods store, Mincher returned to professional baseball as general manager of the Huntsville Stars in 1984. He assembled a group of local owners and purchased that club a decade later, marking the first time the team was locally owned and operated. During his tenure, the Stars emerged Southern League champions in 1985 and again in 1994.
Mincher was appointed interim Southern League President in February 2000 before officially being elected that October. He since has served in that capacity out of his home office in Huntsville, where he resides with his wife Pat. The Minchers are parents of three and grandparents of six.
The Mississippi Braves are proud to announce that the entire coaching staff from 2007 returns in 2008. Manager Phillip Wellman returns to lead the M-Braves after guiding the team to its first playoff appearance in '07. Derek Botelho is back as pitching coach after leading the Braves pitching staff to the league ERA title for the first time and Franklin Stubbs returns as hitting coach after the Braves broke almost every team-batting record in '07. The lone newcomer on the M-Braves staff is trainer Ricky Alcantara. Alcantara was with the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans last year.
The following release is from Atlanta:
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Braves announced their 2008 minor league coaching staffs today, including Chris Chambliss' return to the organization where he spent seven years as a player and two as a manager.
Chambliss will be the hitting coach at Richmond (AAA) where he managed in 1992. He played first base for the Braves from 1980-1986, hitting .272 with 80 HR and 366 RBI in 886 games. His 36 doubles in 1980 tied Hank Aaron's then-Atlanta doubles record. Chambliss first joined the Braves in a coaching role in 1991 as manager at Greenville (AA) where he was named Southern League Manger of the Year. He most recently served as the Cincinnati Reds' hitting coach from 2003-2006. From 1996-2000, he served as the New York Yankees' hitting coach when they won four World Series, after which he was with the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations. He started his coaching career in 1988 as the Yankees' hitting coach and spent 1993-1995 as the St. Louis Cardinals' hitting coach. He had five total seasons as a minor league manager (1989-1992, 2001) compiling a 372-337 mark for the Braves, Tigers and Marlins. Chambliss was the 1990 Eastern League Manager of the Year with the London Tigers.
Returning to Richmond's staff following its 2007 International League championship will be manager Dave Brundage for his second season, pitching coach Guy Hansen who is in his ninth season in the Atlanta system and trainer Mike Graus who will be entering his 15th season with the Braves.
Mississippi (AA) returns manager Phillip Wellman, pitching coach Derek Botelho and hitting coach Franklin Stubbs from the Southern League's South Division first-half champions. Trainer Ricky Alcantara joins Mississippi from Myrtle Beach.
The Myrtle Beach (A) coaching staff remains the same with Rocket Wheeler as the manager, Bruce Dal Canton as the pitching coach and Rick Albert as the hitting coach. Trainer Greg Hall moves up from Rome to join the Pelicans.
Randy Ingle will return to Rome (A) in his 17th season managing in the Braves' system. Bobby Moore returns as the hitting coach while pitching coach Jim Czajkowski and trainer Chas Miller were both promoted from Danville to join the club.
At Danville (Rookie), Paul Runge will be the manager again. Joining him is pitching coach Derrick Lewis who was with the Gulf Coast Braves last year. Carlos Mendez, who played for Richmond last season as a first baseman, will make his first move into coaching as the hitting coach. The new trainer will be Eric Malek, who joins the Braves from Baylor University where he worked as the graduate assistant athletic trainer. He was the Boston Red Sox intern athletic trainer in 2005.
Luis Ortiz returns as the Gulf Coast (Rookie) manager, along with hitting coach Sixto Lezcano and trainer Allan Chase. Joining the staff as pitching coach is Gabe Luckert who served in the same capacity with the Dominican Summer League team last year.
There were three changes announced to the player development staff. Leon Roberts becomes the new minor league hitting coordinator after serving as Richmond's hitting coach last year.
Lynn Jones rejoins the Braves organization as the roving outfield/baserunning coordinator after two seasons in the same role with the Cincinnati Reds. He was the 2002 Macon Braves manager. Finally, Justin Clift was named the new minor league equipment coordinator.
news 12/8
news 12/8
