The Frontier League may get
pushed to the background at times since other Independent leagues cater more to
older, more experienced players, but it is a huge mistake to overlook the
oldest Indy circuit--this is Year 26--for its production of major leaguers.
This is the
case right now, barely a week before all 30 major league teams start playing
for keeps, as another of the Frontier League's pitchers makes major noise with
Miami with a second right-hander not far behind, also with the youthful
Marlins.
It is not
easy for new faces to squeeze their way onto 25-man Opening Day rosters, but
this pair among the 51 onetime Independent players in major league spring
training camps may be exceptions. Nearly
a dozen of the 51 only needed to stay healthy to retain their jobs at
baseball's top level while the other three dozen or so really had to impress in
spring training to win a position.
The
Frontier League already has Cincinnati pitcher Tanner Roark (Southern Illinois)
and St. Louis first baseman-outfielder Jose Martinez (Rockford) well
established in the bigs. Trevor Richards
could easily come next with another hurler, Nick Anderson, in the mix. Like Roark, this pair are especially
meaningful to the Independent leagues since they played their very first
professional games without benefit of a major league organization behind them.
The
25-year-old Richards broke into the majors last season, only two summers after
being signed out of the Frontier League (Gateway), and started 25 times for the
youthful Marlins (4-9, 4.42). He has
really stepped it up in the past month.
As veteran MLB.com writer Joe Frisaro put it: He (Richards) "has been lined up as the
fifth starter. But the way he's thrown
in spring training he's making a case to move up to No. 2."
The
masterpiece on his Florida log came last Sunday when he threw six no-hit innings
against the Cardinals, bringing his spring earned run average to 1.86 with 20
strikeouts while limiting batters to eight hits and four walks in 19.1
innings. The batting average against him
is a measly .125.
"It's
been happening (for Richards) all spring," manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com.
"We've seen adding the (new) pitches and what it can do for
him. It's trending in the right
direction."
Richards
said "we'll go mainly fastball, curveball, changeup, and we're toying with
a fourth one, but we'll see how that one comes along." The change has been his bread and butter,
with a .165 average against it last season.
Anderson
learned the pitching ropes in the Frontier League between 2012 when he came out
of North Dakota's Mayville State and 2015, toiling first for Rockford, then for
the travel team, the Greys, and climbed the minor league ladder with Minnesota,
including 88 strikeouts in only 60 Triple-A innings last season (8-2,
3.30). He moved into the major league
picture when he joined Miami and the Marlins added him to their 40-man roster,
a feat achieved by zero other Independent players not already at that level
during the offseason.
He has done
just fine in spring training, striking out nine without walking anyone in 6.1
innings while posting a 4.26 ERA.
The Marlins
have still two more onetime Independent hurlers in camp and doing well although
it may not be good enough to make the Opening Day roster. They are southpaws Mike Kickham (Kansas City,
American Association) and Brian Moran (Bridgeport, Atlantic League). Kickham has a 1.50 ERA after six appearances
(6.0 innings) and Moran is at 2.45 after five outings, allowing only one hit in
collecting eight outs.
Some Other Hopefuls
Other
former Independent players making solid bids for major league jobs include
relievers Marcus Walden of Boston and Eric Yardley of San Diego and infielders
Emilio Bonifacio of Tampa Bay and Ildemaro Vargas of Arizona. Yardley spent time with Trinidad and Taos of
the youth-oriented Pecos League while the others were in the Atlantic
League. Walden was at Lancaster, Vargas
at Bridgeport and Bonifacio at Long Island, the latter just last season.
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