Following The Fighting Irish On The Farm

July 1, 2009

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A.J. Pollock, former Notre Dame All-American and first round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, made his professional debut with the South Bend Silver Hawks Tuesday night. Pollock batted third and played centerfield, but went 0-for-4 at the plate. He was the last of four Irish players to make their respective debuts after being selected in the 2009 MLB First-Year Player draft.

Here is an update on not only the remaining players from the ’09 draft, Sam Elam, Jeremy Barnes and Evan Sharpley, but also the other 11 players currently working their way up through the MLB minor league system.

Matt Macri, Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins, Class AAA)
2009: Has played in 64 games (predominantly at third base) … batting just .223 with 15 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 25 RBI … ranks second on the club in doubles, third in runs scored and tied for third in triples, home runs and walks … struggled over the first couple months of the season, but has shown signs of regaining form that resulted in a MLB call-up last season … hit .286 with two home runs and nine RBI in the month of June … batting .333 over his last 10 games and currently owns a season-high seven-game hitting streak.

2008: Batted .324 with a homer and four RBIs in 18 games with Minnesota Twins … hit .259 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs in 89 games with Triple-A Rochester … went 3-for-3 with two homers and four RBIs against Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 13.

Jeff Manship, Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins, Class AAA)
2009: Opened the season with the New Britain Rock Cats in the Eastern League … went 6-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 13 starts … allowed 72 hits, 36 earned runs, 45 strikeouts and 20 walks in 75.2 innings of work … was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week on May 4 after tossing 7.0 scoreless innings against the Trenton Thunder (fanned five with one walk and allowed just one hit) … has made one start with the Red Wings and yielded 10 hits in 6.0 innings … also struck out six and walked two.

2008: Was named a Florida State League midseason All-Star and earned Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Week honors on Nov. 3 … went a combined 10-9 with a 3.65 ERA in 27 starts for Class A Advanced Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain … tossed four-hit shutout against Class A Advanced Dunedin on June 3 … went 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA in nine home starts for Fort Myers … went 2-1 with a 5.08 ERA in eight starts for Phoenix in AFL.

John Axford, Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers, Class AAA)
2009: Opened the season with Brevard County in the Florida State League before recently moving up to the Pacific Coast League, which included a stop with Huntsville … went 4-1 with a 1.63 ERA in 19 games, all out of the bullpen, for the Manatees … struck out 43, walked 16, allowed only 14 hits and five earned runs in 27.2 innings of work … went 0-0 with a 3.52 ERA in four relief appearances for the Stars … struck out nine, walked three, allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 7.1 innings … has tossed two scoreless outings of relief with the Sounds … has fanned four, without a walk, and allowed one hit in 3.0 innings.

2008: Spent entire season with Brevard County of the Florida State League … went 5-10 with a 4.55 ERA … struck out 89 over 95.0 innings and held opponents to a .246 batting average, but walked 73 … made 26 appearances and 14 starts.

Brian Stavisky, Reading Phillies (Philadelphia Phillies, Class AA)
2009: Has played in 62 games, predominantly at first base … batting .272 with 30 runs scored, 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 32 RBI … has also drawn 34 walks … batting .366 (15-for-41) with two home runs and nine RBI over his last 10 games, including hits in nine of the contests … batted .322 (28-for-87) with seven doubles, three home runs and 19 RBI in the month of June.

2008: Spent the entire season with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers (LA Angels) of the Texas League … batted .312 with 56 runs scored, 18 doubles, 16 home runs and 51 RBI in 86 games … combined for two home runs, four RBIs, five runs and five hits over two games on June 8 and June 9 … doubled three times on June 12 … had four-consecutive multiple-hit games between July 12 and July 15 … collected four RBIs on July 22 … went 3-for-5 with two runs scored on August 22.

Craig Cooper, San Antonio Missions (San Diego Padres, Class AA)
2009: Has played in 74 games, predominantly at first base … hitting .339 with 40 runs scored, 97 hits, 19 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 56 RBI … earned San Diego Padres Minor League Player of the Month in April … hit .382 (29-for-76) with a double, triple, home run and 10 RBI in 20 games … hit safely in 19 of those 20 games, including nine multi-hit outings, and carried a 15-game hitting streak into May which was later snapped at 18 games … named to the Texas League All-Star game for the second consecutive year … leads the Missions in games played, hits, home runs, RBI and total bases … leads the Texas League in hits, ranks third in RBI, fourth in batting average, fourth in total bases and sixth in doubles.

2008: Spent the entire season with the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League … batted .282 with 46 runs scored, 115 hits, 24 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 55 RBI … ranked fourth on the club in doubles, fifth in RBI and fifth in total bases.

Brett Lilley, Quad Cities River Bandits (St. Louis Cardinals, Class A)
2009: Has played in 60 games (predominantly at second base and leading off) … hitting .229 with 35 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple, one home run and 17 RBI … hitting .275 (19-for-69) with runners on base … leads the team in walks with 32 … smacked his first career home run (two-run shot) on May 22 against Dayton.

2008: Hit .319 with 17 runs scored and 12 RBIs in 32 games with Rookie Appalachian League Johnson City … picked up two hits and plated two runs in his first professional game on June 17 … scored a career-high three runs on June 23 … had a career-high 12-game hitting streak from July 18-Aug. 2 … hit .296 with six RBIs and five runs scored in 19 games after begin promoted to Class A Short-Season Batavia of the New York-Penn League to finish the season on Aug. 4.

Kyle Weiland, Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox, Class A)
2009: Has made 15 appearances, all starts, and posted a 3-6 record with a 4.33 ERA in 70.2 innings of work … struggled mightily out of the gate with an 0-2 record and a 12.00 ERA over his first four starts, but has rebounded quite well in May and June … over the last two months, has a 3-4 record with a 2.76 ERA in 58.2 innings of work (11 starts) … almost untouchable over last five starts, 2-1 with a 0.33 ERA (has allowed just 16 hits and one earned run in 27.2 innings).

2008: Led the Red Sox farm system with a 1.50 ERA and went 3-3 in 15 games/10 starts for the short-season Class A Lowell of the New York-Penn League … led the Spinners with 68 strikeouts for an average of 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings … limited opponents to a .166 average and just 10 walks … began the season going 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in five relief appearances before going 3-2 with a 1.23 ERA in 10 starts to conclude the season … did not allow an earned run in any of his five August starts, allowing just 15 base-runners and four unearned runs in that span … went a season-high five innings on five occasions, including three straight from August 16-27 … gave up more than one earned run in just two outings … was named the Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month for August/September … started Lowell’s first-ever post-season game vs. Batavia on September 8, a 4-3 win in 12 innings … fanned six without issuing a walk and gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings, his only playoff game … ranked by Baseball America as the NYPL’s 15th-best prospect in 2008.

David Phelps, Charleston RiverDogs (New York Yankees, Class A)
2009: Has made 15 appearances, all starts, and posted an 8-2 record with a 3.03 ERA in 89.0 innings of work … leads the team in starts, innings, wins and ranks second in strikeouts … even better on the road, posting a perfect 5-0 mark with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts … went 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 30.2 innings of work in the month of June, including victories in three consecutive starts over one stretch … now owns a career record of 16-4 in minor league stints at Staten Island (2008) and Charleston (2009).

2008: Made his professional debut, going 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 15 starts with Class A Short-Season Staten Island (72.2 IP, 67 H, 28 R, 22 ER, 18 BB, 52 K, 4 HR) … tied for second in the New York-Penn League in wins and ranked fourth in the league in ERA, earning a spot on the league’s midseason All-Star roster … tied for fourth among Yankees farmhands in ERA … went 6-0 with a 2.75 ERA in eight road starts … won each of his final six decisions of the season over his last nine starts … made one postseason start for Staten Island, going 0-1 with a 33.75 ERA (1.1 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K).

Joey Williamson, Modesto Nuts (Colorado Rockies, Class A)
2009: Opened season with Tulsa Drillers (Class AA) … made two appearances, both starts, and did not allow a run in 6.2 innings of work … fanned four and walked four while allowing three hits in two starts … returned to Modesto (Class A) and has dominated … owns an 8-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 51.0 innings of work … made 20 appearances, four starts, and has surrendered 39 hits and struck out 48 (with only 13 walks) … Modesto is now 18-2 when Williamson appears in a game … leads club in wins … now owns a career record of 12-0, including his 4-0 mark from Asheville last season.

2008: Was named a South Atlantic League All-Star after going 4-0 with a 3.04 ERA in 35 games for the Asheville Tourists … yielded 67 hits in 83.0 innings of work … struck out 89 and walked 32.

Dan Kapala, Charleston RiverDogs (New York Yankees, Class A)
2009: Has made 21 appearances, all out of the bullpen … owns a 4-0 record with a 2.33 ERA in 46.1 innings of work … surrendered 41 hits and struck out 26 … almost unhittable in the month of June … went 2-0 with a 0.54 ERA in seven relief outings … allowed one earned run in 16.2 innings over the stretch (surrendered 13 hits and fanned nine) … ranks first among relievers on club innings and second in wins and appearances.

2008: Combined to go 2-2 with one save and a 1.91 ERA in 17 relief appearances with the GCL Yankees, Class A Charleston and Class A Short-Season Staten Island … held right-handed batters to a .143 (8-for-56) batting average … recorded his first professional save on June 25 vs. the GCL Phillies, tossing 1.0 perfect inning … earned his first career win on July 13 at Tri-City (with Staten Island).

Wade Korpi, Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida Marlins, Class A)
2009: Opened the season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League before recently moving up to the Florida State League … went 2-2 with a 3.99 ERA in 18 games, two starts, for the Grasshoppers … struck out 42, walked 17, allowed 41 hits and 17 earned runs in 38.1 innings of work … has made one appearance for the Hammerheads and tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief with a pair of strikeouts.

2008: Made his professional debut at short-season Jamestown, where he struck out 41 over 37.1 innings and held opponents to a .239 batting average … fanned seven over five shutout innings to beat Mahoning Valley on July 26 … struck out five over three scoreless innings to defeat Mahoning Valley on Aug. 6.

Jeremy Barnes, Williamsport Crosscutters (Philadelphia Phillies, Class A)
2009: Has played in 11 games since being selected in the 11th round in the 2009 MLB draft … has started all 11 games, predominantly at shortstop … leads the club in games played, at-bats, hits (tied), home runs (tied) and total bases … registered an RBI ground out in first career professional at-bat in 15-2 rout of State College … went 2-for-6 with an RBI and run scored in that contest … added an RBI single and first career pro home run on June 20 against State College … went 3-for-5 with four RBI, two runs scored, a triple and home run against Batavia on June 30.

Sam Elam, Staten Island Yankees (New York Yankees, Class A)
2009: Has made two appearances out of bullpen … tossed a scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout against Hudson Valley on June 26 in pro debut.

Evan Sharpley, AZL Mariners (Seattle Mariners, Rookie)
2009: Has played in seven games since being selected in the 50th round in the 2009 MLB draft … batting .364 with two doubles, a triple, home run and six RBI in just 22 at-bats … went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs scored, one triple and one home run (seventh inning three-run bomb) in a 9-5 victory over the Royals on June 29.

— ND —