'Just A Great Feeling' For Can-Am Grads' First MLB Hit

If the Can-Am League had its own Hall of Fame, this would be a perfect souvenir for a player to donate.

Less than a year removed from All-Star status in the league for his play with the Rockland Boulders (Pomona, NY), Stephen Cardullo gave himself an ideal 29th birthday gift two days early when his pinch hit single landed in left field to give the new Colorado Rockies outfielder-first baseman his very first major league hit.  “Just a great feeling,” he told ESPN.com.  That ball would make a nice treasure, although it apparently is going to Cardullo’s father.

It was Cardullo’s sixth plate appearance for the Rockies (he had an earlier walk), and the Coors Field crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Accolades for Cardullo on his first regular-season major league opportunity have poured in since last Thursday from the likes of coach Mike Martin, Jr. at Florida State, where the Hollywood, FL native went from walk-on status to an offensive power, and both general manager Shawn Reilly and field manager Jamie Keefe of the Boulders had great praise.  The right-handed hitter had spent four full seasons in Independent leagues before the Rockies signed him during the offseason, three in the Can-Am League and one in the Frontier (Florence, KY and London).  This is what Cardullo had to say to The Denver Post about the opportunity:

“Anyone playing Independent ball always has that slight chance to get a call to make a team and eventually make the major leagues.  You have to have that belief deep down that you can make it even given the opportunity, and I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity.”

OTHERS GET TO MAJORS, AS WELL

The expansion of rosters on September 1 likely will mean more former Indy players will join major league teams, but it has already been a banner few days.  Catcher Rafael Lopez, who played in the Atlantic League (Bridgeport, CT) earlier this season, was summoned to join Cincinnati on Saturday, becoming the 40th player with non-affiliated experience to reach The Show this season.

Southpaw Andrew Albers (Quebec, Can-Am, and Lancaster, PA, Atlantic) has re-joined Minnesota, right-hander Brandon Cunniff (Southern Illinois and River City, Frontier League) went back to Atlanta as did first baseman Brandon Snyder (Southern Maryland, Atlantic), righty Bo Schultz (Grand Prairie, TX, American Association) has returned to Toronto and outfielder Logan Schafer, signed earlier this season out of Lancaster, joined the Twins.  Cunniff has since been optioned back to Triple-A.


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Recent Indy Grads Impressing In MiLB

One constant in writing about Independent Baseball is the never-ending-opportunity to shed the spotlight on players who have not yet reached the major leagues, but are showing impressive strides after being signed out of the non-affiliated leagues and playing in the affiliated minors.

Today's stories are absolutely juicy.

One year ago Stephen Cardullo was an all-star outfielder in the Can-Am League, hitting .331 for the Rockland Boulders (Pomona, NY). Today, the soon-to-be 29-year-old can boast of hitting .308 with 26 doubles, 5 triples, 17 homers and 72 RBI for the Los Angeles Dodgers' top farm club in Albuquerque.

Omar Bencomo, a 27-year-old who had to fight his way back after gunshot wounds in his native Venezuela that kept him off the diamond for two years, rebounded through Italy and the American Association (Laredo, TX and Wichita, KS), and the right-hander has recently been promoted by Minnesota to the Twins' Triple-A club in Rochester, NY. He has split his first two starts for the Red Wings.   "I'm so proud to be here," he told The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.  "A lot of things happened to me to get here.  I took a long time to get 100 per cent but I'm here."

Mike Zouzalik was a strikeout-per-inning reliever for the St. Paul (MN) Saints of the American Association last season (4-1, 2.06 in 39 appearances) before his contract was purchased by Baltimore.  He had split this season between Class A Frederick, MD and Double-A Bowie, MD until recently when he was promoted to Norfolk, VA.  In  his first appearance in Triple-A, the righty escaped one bases loaded jam and worked three scoreless innings.  "When I got released (Texas in 2014), I was really kind of relieved," he told The Norfolk Pilot.  "I was throwing, and I had no idea where it was going...I just wasn't really having fun.  When I played with Wichita (his first American Association team later that year) and we won the championship, that reminded me how much fun this game is.  That was huge for me."

Ross Vance got his initial professional opportunity this season in the first-year United Shore League (Utica, MI), but St. Louis came along early on and purchased the 24-year-old lefty.  He already has 47 strikeouts in a mere 34 innings for Johnson City, TN of the Appalachian League, winning all three of his decisions and posting a 2.38 earned run average in 13 appearances (two starts).


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Record Likely For Number Of Indy Players

With more than six weeks remaining in the major league season it seems virtually certain a record is going to be established for the most players with time in Independent leagues reaching baseball's pinnacle in any one year.

The count has already reached 38, based on records maintained by IndyBaseballChatter.com, only three below the high-water mark reached two years ago. The final count last season was 37.

The confidence that a new mark will be established stems from the fact several more players could easily get the call. And there is always the chance of another Rich Hill situation of a player still laboring in an Indy circuit in August who could have his contract purchased and he could land at the game's highest level days later.

Here are some of the top candidates to reach active major league status this year.

Rehabbing veteran Tanner Scheppers seems likely to join the Texas Rangers when rosters expand September 1, and another possibility is RHP Aaron Wilkerson, now working in Triple-A for Milwaukee. Veteran lefty Joe Thatcher could join his new parent, the Chicago Cubs.

THE DISABLED LIST GROWS

With Tim Adleman (New Jersey, Can-Am League, and El Paso and Lincoln, American Association) back in the majors with Cincinnati, 16 onetime Independent players are active on major league rosters.  The unusual aspect is that another nine, very likely a high-water mark, are on major league disabled lists.  Seven of those are pitchers.

WILKERSON BENEFITTED FROM INDEPENDENT PLAY

On paper, Aaron Wilkerson seemed to have benefitted from the trade last month when he went from Boston's Triple-A Pawtucket farm club to the corresponding level in the Milwaukee chain at Colorado Springs.  And, he knows he owes his second chance at reaching the major leagues to time he spent in Independent Baseball after being out of the game for a couple of years and moving on with his life outside of the game.

"Independent ball was my way of doing a self-evaluation," the 27-year-old told The Colorado Springs Gazette recently.  "I was able to put up good numbers (at Florence, KY of the Frontier League and Grand Prairie, TX of the American Association) and another opportunity came my way."

The right-hander has struggled since joining Colorado Springs (1-5, 6.69 in eight starts) after a strong start to the season with Boston's top two farm clubs (6-3, 2.14) led to talk of a major league call-up, but he had an encouraging no-decision start Wednesday when he struck out 10 El Paso batters in six innings of three-run work.


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Astros' James Hoyt Latest To Make Independents Proud

It finally happened!

Strikeout machine James Hoyt, who pitched for three independent baseball teams before getting his first chance with a major league organization, has made his long-awaited major league debut with the postseason-hopeful Houston Astros.

The 29-year-old right-hander is the first player who started in a non-affiliated league to reach the majors since Ian Thomas did so. Both players were in Independent play as recently as 2012, and are the 42nd and 43rd players who started their pro career in an Indy circuit to climb all the way to the majors. Thirty of them have been pitchers.

The 6-foot-5 Hoyt was plagued by wildness during his last collegiate season at Centenary College, but after working on a sailboat in San Diego for a time the next year (2011) he hooked up with the Jose Canseco-managed Yuma (AZ) Scorpions of the North American League, then Edinburg, TX of the same league and finally the Wichita (KS) Wingnuts of the American Association in 2012.

He struck out 248 hitters in only 191 innings in the Atlanta and Houston farm systems between 2013 and last season, and he was enjoying a banner season with the Astros’ Triple-A club in Fresno, striking out batters at a rate of 15.1 for every nine innings. He had 84 whiffs in 50 innings, a 1.62 ERA and his 28 saves ranked as the second highest total in all of the affiliated minors. Baseball America tabbed him the top reliever in the Pacific Coast League in its recent “best tools” issue.

Hoyt has been in three games in the last five days since being called up, allowing one hit (an Edwin Encarnacion solo home run) while walking one and collecting four strikeouts in 2.2 major league innings.

Wichita Now Has Indy-Leading Four in Majors

The Wichita Wingnuts have a great deal to boast about these days. The American Association franchise has an independent baseball-leading four former players in the major leagues now that James Hoyt and changeup specialist Chris Smith of Oakland Athletics have been called up.

The ‘Nuts already had slugging Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta (disabled list) and the surprising Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Junior Guerra in the majors.

Smith, 35, is back in the majors for the first time since making 20 starts (8-4, 3.55) for Wichita in ’13 and 12 appearances (eight starts) for Sugar Land, TX of the Atlantic League the next season before San Diego Padres purchased the right-hander’s contract and sent him to their top farm club in El Paso, TX. He won all six of his decisions and compiled a 2.15 ERA with Sugar Land.

The onetime University of California-Riverside hurler had 50 previous major league relief opportunities with Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee between 2008 and 2010.  Baseball America named Smith the pitcher with the best changeup in the Pacific Coast League for his work with the Athletics’ Nashville club this season.

Sugar Land ranks second among all Independent teams with three major leaguers, including the Los Angeles Dodgers Scott Kazmir and another southpaw, Hunter Cervenka, a rookie just obtained by Miami Marlins from the Atlanta Braves.

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Reynolds, Sermo Capitalize On New Opportunities

Fortunes can change quickly in Independent Baseball.  Just ask Matt Reynolds and Jose Sermo, both enjoying triumphant returns to major league organizations.

From Lancaster to SF Giants in a Month

Matt Reynolds suddenly finds himself involved in the National League West pennant chase only a month and a few days removed from the Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers' bullpen in the Atlantic League.  The 31-year-old southpaw had relieved in 213 major league games for Colorado and Arizona between 2010 and 2015 when he suddenly found himself needing a new opportunity after the Diamondbacks released him in the last week of spring training.

"It's kind of been an interesting journey," the 6-foot-5 hurler admitted to KNBR.com, shortly after being promoted from Triple-A to the San Francisco Giants, for whom he made two appearances (1.0, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout) over the weekend during their series against another division leader, Washington.  "I certainly wasn't expecting any of this."

Reynolds described his time with Lancaster, which only ended after a June 21 appearance, as a "fun opportunity", and the onetime Austin Peay starter shared one funny experience during his time with the Barnstormers, which included 26 relief outings and 32 strikeouts in 22 Atlantic League innings (1-0, 1.63).  He was getting ready to warm up for his first appearance, he told KNBR.com, when teammates told him to slow it up because the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs do a mid-game fireworks show.  “I was a little shocked and blown away,” he mused.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy says he plans to use Reynolds as a situational reliever for now.

Three-Homer Game Launches Sermo

Jose Sermo played half of last season and 29 games earlier in '16 with Gary, IN of the American Association before Boston purchased the infielder's contract and gave him a second opportunity in affiliated baseball following three years in the Milwaukee farm system.

He had shown some power early this summer at Gary, whacking five homers while hitting .311 with a sparkling .425 on-base percentage and 24 runs driven in.  Sermo admits things were not going that good for Salem, VA in the Carolina League until last Tuesday (July 26) when the switch-hitter recorded his first three-homer game.  He hit two right-handed and the last one as a lefty.

"I was struggling a little bit, but I kind of tried to relax," Sermo told MiLB.com.  "(Coach Angel) Berroa was talking to me like 'just relax.  You look like you just want to hit already and you're not even close to being in the box.  Just relax.'"  Berroa may have been thinking back to when he was a star in the Independent game himself, mainly for Bridgeport, CT of the Atlantic League, where his number has been retired.

Sermo, 25, has been hot since that night, going 8-for-18 to lift his season average (29 games) to .245.


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