MAJORS OBTAIN AT LEAST 51 FROM INDEPENDENT RANKS SO FAR THIS SEASON

While the focus in baseball right now is tomorrow's (July 31) trade deadline, our attention, as always, is on major league teams finding interest in players in the Independent leagues.

IndyBaseballChatter has tracked 51 players who have been obtained by major league organizations since the end of spring training.  (This total is from the four primary, long-standing leagues, with a few more joining farm systems out of the newer Independent leagues.)

We also can report that six players who have been in one or more Indy league have gotten the thrill of making their major league debut this season.  Trevor Richards (Miami) and Robert Stock (San Diego) still are there while Jeremy Bleich (Oakland), Ryan Bollinger (Yankees), Brandon Mann (Texas) and Marcus Walden (Boston) have returned to the minors.  Bollinger was active, but did not appear in any games.

Thirty-three Indy vets in all have been active on major league rosters this season with 21 still at that level (although several are on the disabled list).  The record for one year was last season's 45, which still could be challenged before the season ends.

When Bleich, who had pitched for the Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League, was called up by the Athletics recently, he became the 245th player from the Independent ranks to be active for a major league team since the non-affiliated brand of baseball started in 1993.  That is very impressive, especially since many in the majors virtually dismissed the concept when the first leagues started playing.  (The complete list is available for fans to obtain, as stated elsewhere on this blog.)


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