by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Features Editor

September 11, 2008

As you’ve been reading in the weekly JML updates, there has been a steady minyan of Jews up in the Show throughout the 2008 season. But as of Sept. 1, teams have the option to increase their rosters from 25 players to 40, allowing them to take a look at some of the up-and-comers in their farm systems.

Here’s a brief look at some players who spent at least part of 2008 with their teams’ AAA affiliates, one step away from that big league dream.

A few — such as Adam Stern, Brian Horwitz, and Sam Fuld — have already enjoyed the proverbial “cup of coffee”; others are still looking forward to the day when they’ll don the uniform of the big club.

Been there, done that

• Adam Stern, a product of Canada who represented his country in the Beijing Olympics, has played 48 games in three seasons for the Boston Red Sox (2005-06) and Baltimore Orioles (2007), batting a minuscule .143 in 35 at bats with one homer and six RBI. This year, before taking off in June to train for the Olympics, Stern hit .221 with one home run and eight RBI in 34 games for the Norfolk Tides (International League), the Orioles’ AAA affiliate.

• Sam Fuld, 26, made his big league debut for the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 5, 2007. Most of his appearances came as a late-inning defensive replacement. He was hitless in six official at bats (walking three times and scoring three runs). He split his 2008 minor league season between the Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League (AAA) and the Tennessee Smokies (Southern League/AA), where he hit a combined .264 in 105 games (six homers, 52 RBI).

• Brian Horwitz, 25, was an early-season call-up by the San Francisco Giants, making his debut on May 30. He batted .353 with two home runs and four runs batted in in his first 10 games, but after a 2-19 slump — dropping his batting average to .222 —he was optioned back to the AAA Fresno Grizzlies on July 1 with 21 big league games under his belt. In 86 games with the Grizzlies, the left-fielder was batting .277 with seven homers and 29 RBI.

Still waiting their turn

• Josh Whitesell has the best credentials of the bunch. The 26-year-old first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ AAA Tucson Sidewinders was batting a robust .328 with 36 doubles, 26 homers, and 110 RBI (second in the league). [Editor’s note: He was called up on Sept. 2, making his ML debut against the St. Louis Cardinals by striking out as a pinch hitter in an 8-2 loss. He had a subsequent pinch-hitting appearance (similarly hitless) on Sept. 6.]

• Jake Wild, a 27-year-old shortstop for Fresno, was batting .234 in 59 games with three homers and 24 RBI). He also spent some time with the AA Connecticut Defenders (Eastern League), where he hit .262/2/15 in 52 games.

• Phil Avlas, a Tucson teammate of Whitesell, batted .294/2/28 in 91 games as a left fielder. The 25-year-old Avlas has spent most of his career as a catcher, where those numbers might be more acceptable.

• Jason Glushon, a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher in the Oakland As’ system, has been chalking up the frequent flyer miles. He’s pitched for four teams so far: Sacramento (AAA), Midland (Texas League/AA), Kane County (Midwest/A), and, most recently, Stockton (High-A). Overall he has a record of 2-2, with an earned run average of 3.67 in 88.1 innings in 34 games.

--TOP--

Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com