Rule-5 Draft, Spring Training invites highlight indy baseball week

This Week in Independent Baseball

Four Taken in Rule 5 Draft--Continuing to show their value to major league organizations, four players with Independent Baseball experience were selected by new teams in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft during the Winter Meetings in Orlando.  The first person to go was catcher Yermin Mercedes, who came out of the Pecos League (Douglas and White Sands) and who chosen away from Baltimore by the Chicago White Sox.  He was the No. 2 pick in the entire Triple-A portion.  Eight spots later the outfielder converted to pitching, Andrew Muren (Fargo, Sioux Falls and Gary, all in the American Association) went from San Francisco to Toronto.  Lefty Chris Nunn (Evansville, Frontier League) was chosen by Houston from the Chicago Cubs.  Another southpaw, Carlos Diaz (Gary) was a Round 2 choice from Miami to Oakland.

Major League Spring Training Invitations--Somewhere around 25 former Independent players will become non-roster invitees to major league camps, presuming the level of recent years holds.  Three pitchers were added in recent days joining Boston outfielder Jeremy Barfield (Sugar Land and Camden, Atlantic League).  They are RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx of Texas (Lancaster, Atlantic League, and Victoria, Golden League); and the Tampa Bay pair of RHP Cody Hall (Lancaster) and LHP Vidal Nuno (Washington, Frontier League).

New to 40-Man Roster--The biggest addition to a major league camp probably is RHP Chris Martin of Texas (Grand Prairie, American Association), who returns to the majors after two outstanding seasons in Japan.  Martin got his professional start in Grand Prairie.


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Spring Training Count Of Ex-Indy Players Likely To Top 2016

Most major league teams have not revealed the bulk of their non-roster invitees to spring training camps, but IndyBaseballChatter has been busy working through various sources and we can now say with confidence that the number of players who have been in independent leagues and will train with one of the 30 organizations almost certainly will top the 50 mark of last February.

We can identify 42 players already ticketed for major league camps in Florida or Arizona even though about seven weeks remain before we hear the happy cry of "pitchers and catchers", traditionally the first big-leaguers asked to report.

After last season's record of 45 onetime Indy players seeing action during the regular major league season, 26 players are currently on 40-man rosters, an increase of one over last spring training, and 16 players that we know of have been given non-roster invitations.  That means only nine more players need to be tabbed to top last season's total.  That number seems almost certain to be exceded, possibly by a fairly wide margin, once organizations return from an end-of-year break and more of them identify their non-roster invitation lists.

For starters in increasing the list, four established major leaguers still are free agents, beginning with right-handed pitcher Luke Hochevar and infielder Stephen Drew.  Tom Wilhelmsen and Jerome Williams also remain available to any team although their careers probably are considerably closer to the end than the beginning.

Pitchers dominate the ranks of players headed to spring training, as always.  Hurlers have 32 of the 42 spots already known by "Chatter" with three catchers, a similar number of infielders and four outfielders.  The American Association and Atlantic League continue to have the most players on the list.

Stay tuned.

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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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Majors Picking Up Indy Players At Torrid Pace

While the track record over the past two decades shows it is going to happen, the pace of Independent Baseball players having their contracts purchased by major league organizations has been at a torrid pace this season.

Records maintained by the Independent Baseball Insider, believed to be the most complete anywhere, have recorded 42 such transactions since the end of major league spring training with 25 of them in the second half of June, probably in part to help fill out rosters after the free agent draft.

Two impressive facets of these signings are that 10 of the players started their professional career in an Indy league and some of them have come from the newer non-affiliated circuits, including the Pacific Association and the first-year United Shore League.

In no particular order, the native Independent players who have had their contracts picked up for a price by MLB organizations include RHP (and former infielder) Max Duval to Arizona, SS Josh Gardiner and RHP Tim Holmes to the New York Yankees, INF Christian Ibarra to Minnesota, RHP Trey Lambert to Washington, RHP Santos Saldivar to Milwaukee, INF Josh Silver to the Chicago Cubs, RHP Matt Solter to San Francisco, OF Boo Vazquez to Kansas City and LHP Ross Vance to St. Louis.

Vance came out of the three-team United Shore League which started its initial season on May 30.

In addition to the 42 players sold to major league organizations, numerous others have gone to leagues in Mexico, Taiwan and Japan.

COURT MOVES TO TRIPLE-A

Some of the recent signees, largely from the Atlantic League, went straight to Triple-A teams.  One player recently promoted to the top minor league level is infielder-outfielder Ryan Court, who was taken from Sioux City in the American Association.  Boston promoted him from Double-A Portland, ME to its top affiliate in Pawtucket, RI.

Court, 28, hit .331 with Sioux City's potent team last season, and followed that up by hitting .319 in 40 games for Portland.  He is at .300 (9-for-30) after eight appearances for Pawtucket.


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