Aussies on Opening Day MLB Rosters 2011

So here we are. The night before Opening Day 2011.

Finally!

We started the Spring with no less than 13 Aussies involved in Spring
Training. For some, Spring was a time to really showcase their wares.
Luke Hughes and Trent Oeltjen put their best foot forward and went
close to earning a spot in the big league squads for Opening Day. For
others, Spring proved to be disappointing, and one by one the initial
13 players slowly diminished until today both Trent Oeltjen and Ryan
Rowland-Smith were confirmed as missing out.

So, that leaves four Aussie guys - all relief pitchers - who have made
it all the way to The Show for Opening Day. Peter Moylan at the
Atlanta Braves was always a reasonably safe bet for making it, and he
further cemented his position with some impressive Spring
performances. Similarly, Brad Thomas at the Detroit Tigers was
entitled to feel some job security coming into the season after a
strong 2010. Grant Balfour changed clubs this year, moving from the
Tampa Bay Rays to the Oakland Athletics, and he found it hard to find
his rhythm early in the Spring. However, he has come on well in the
last week or so, and is now in a position where he may find some
chances as the closer for the A's.

The biggest achievement this year so far goes to Sydney's Rich
Thompson, who has made the squad for the Los Angeles Angels. Thompson
has played a handful of games in the big league (35 games for the
Angels over the past 4 years) while also putting in the hard yards at
AAA. He gave up just one run in 8 innings through spring training and
is a deserved holder of a roster spot at the Angels. It could be a
really big year for Rich.

It is shaping up to be a really huge year for Aussie MLB players. Be
sure to stay tuned to Oz MLB Players for all the action.

Spring Training 2011: Week Three Review - Luke(ing) good

Week Three of Spring Training action wraps up today, and as far as the Aussies go, it was a week of cuts. Aside from this, there were some other positive performances particularly from Rich Thompson, Peter Moylan and Ryan Rowland-Smith, and Luke Hughes and Brad Thomas continued to have strong preparations. With less than two weeks to go until Opening Day, there are now eight Aussies in Major League camps, and it looks like we will end up having five - or possibly six - filling 25-man roster spots on Opening Day.

Through week two of spring training, it was really the Aussie pitchers who stood out in their performances. This week they have been good - not great - whereas the hitters were all strong. 

Highlights of Week Three


If any US-based Aussie players had any doubts about the value of spending the offseason in the ABL, they need only look to the experience of Luke Hughes to be convinced it is incredibly useful. After winning the ABL with the Perth Heat, Hughes hit the ground running at Spring Training, and he hasn't looked back. This week he went 5-for-14 (.357) with a double, two homeruns and four RBIs. Over the entire spring, he is now 15-for-44 (.341) with three doubles, five homeruns and 14 RBIs. He now leads the Twins in at-bats, runs, homeruns and RBIs. He does though also lead them in strikouts - with 13.


Hughes is essentially fighting for a spot as the Twins utility bench player. At the start of spring he was up against three  guys - Matt Tolbert, Trevor Plouffe, and Chase Lambin. Today the Twins sent Plouffe to minor league camp, leaving Tolbert and Lambin to fight it out with Hughes. So far this spring, Tolbert has hit for contact - with an average of .281 but just one extra base hit (a homerun) and two RBIs. Lambin has a slightly better average than Tolbert, with .313, but also has little power. The main difference between both Tolbert/Lambin and Hughes, is that they are recognised shortstops. 

Luke Hughes

Ron Gardenhire has been heaping praise on Hughes over spring, and has indicated that he may well make his decision based on offense rather than defense. If this is the case, Hughes will be the clear winner. At this point, given the consistency and strength of his performances, it would be surprising if Hughes did not make the Opening Day squad. 

Ryan Rowland-Smith

Ryan Rowland-Smith finally managed to put up some solid numbers in Week Three. He pitched three innings this week in a start against the Detroit Tigers. He allowed three hits and one run - which was a first inning homerun to Magglio Ordonez. He seemed to settle in nicely, and picked up two strikes, while issuing two walks. This was a positive outing following on from his early games, in which he gave out too many walks. 


Rowland-Smith is battling [at least] four guys to earn the fifth spot in the Astros' rotation - Nelson Figueroa, Jordan Lyles, Lance Pendleton and Aneury Rodriguez.  

• Figueroa is 2-0 record from three starts and has an ERA of 5.00. He has four strikeouts and four walks. 
• Lyles is 1-2, with an ERA of 1.80, but he has only started one game. He has struck out five and walked two. 
• Pendleton has also spent most of the time coming in from the pen, but has one start, and a record of 1-0. His ERA is 6.43 with three strikeouts and seven walks. 
• Rodriguez has two starts, and no decisions, an ERA of 4.00, three strikouts and four walks.

Without having seen these guys in action, it is hard to say where things are heading for Rowland-Smith, but it is clear that he is certainly in contention. The one thing he has that none of the others have is that he is a lefty. 

Astros' Manager Brad Mills is giving him as good a chance as anyone to show his stuff, and the other guys he is up against are not setting the world on fire. He would be due for another start over the next day or two - perhaps against the Braves, the Pirates or the Tigers - and he will be looking to go deeper in the game and lock in another solid performance.

Trent Oeltjen

ESPN has rated him a 10% chance of making the Dodgers Opening Day roster, but Trent Oeltjen isn't letting that get in the way of putting up solid numbers. Trent played in 5 games for the Dodgers this week and went 4-for-7 (.571), with one double and three runs. 

Rich Thompson also had a good Week Three. He pitched two innings in the Angels' win over the Padres. He allowed his first run of the spring - however it came off just one hit to the lead off man, who swiped a base and then scored on subsequent groundouts. With an injury to fellow reliever Scott Downs this week, Thompson's chances of scoring a spot on Opening Day have increased. He looked calm, strong and determined in the game against the Padres, and looks ready for a full season in the Bigs.

As he did last week, Peter Moylan put up some strong numbers for the Braves. In two innings of work, he gave up no hits or walks, and struck out one. There's really not much more you can say about Moylan at the moment, he is going about his business as consistently as the day is long. 


Not-so-highlights

A few Aussies were cut from Major League squads this week. Justin Huber went from the Twins to Rochester, while Brendan Wise and Chris Oxspring were sent from the Tigers to the Toledo Mud Hens. 


Some of the gloss started to rub off Shane Lindsay this week. He made just one appearance for the White Sox, and gave up three hits and three runs (one unearned) in one inning of work. Lindsay is among a bunch of players competing for a final bullpen spot. At this stage his chances of making the cut don't seem as strong as some of the others. 


Grant Balfour has continued his ordinary spring. This week he pitched two innings, for two hits and two runs, taking his ERA to 12.00 on the campaign so far. Spring has not been kind to Balfour over the past couple of years. In 2009 he went 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA, and in 2010 he went 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA. Maybe the lack of intensity of spring training games is something that makes it difficult for Balf to fire up. Regardless, he will start the season as a senior member of the A's bullpen.

Some new faces in Spring Training

A couple of young Aussie prospects had a chance to hit out with the big league squads over the past week or so through some split squad games. Both James Beresford and Tim Kennelly have seen some time for the Twins and Phillies respectively. Beresford went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in one appearance for the Twins, while Tim Kennelly smacked an RBI double [which was very nearly a homerun] against the Rays. 

Tim Kennelly

Stats for Week Three


In a new feature this week, OzMLBplayers is entering the realm of statistical data provision. We have pulled together the stats for each of the Aussies involved in Spring Training this week into the following tables. Click them to see in full size.


Hitting

Pitching

Next week's ones to watch
We will be paying close attention to Ryan Rowland-Smith's next appearance (or two), and hoping he can continue to rebound. We'll also be crossing our fingers that Trent Oeltjen and Shane Lindsay can somehow find a way onto Opening Day rosters. And of course, we will be keeping check on the performances of guys who seem to have locked in their spot, including Rich Thompson, Pete Moylan, Grant Balfour and Luke Hughes.


For all the latest Oz MLB player action, follow me on twitter.

Where in the world is Brad Harman?

As I have been flicking through the MLB rosters and checking out what is going on in the minor league camps, there is one name that I keep expecting to see but don't.

Brad Harman.

Way back in April 2008 Harman got the call up to the Bigs from Double-A Philadelphia affiliate Reading. He had a handful of appearances and picked up a few hits. He had some 'ok' years in the Minors over the rest of 2008 and through 2009, but then he seems to have disappeared.

Turns out he was suspended by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority! The Herald Sun reported back in May 2010 that Harman failed to lodge details of his whereabouts with drug officials on three occasions over an 18-month period. He was suspended for 14 months, and is free to resume competition from 26 May 2011.

What a shame.

I wonder if he is still out there slogging it out...

UPDATED - List of Aussie Baseballers in Major League Spring Training Camps

UPDATE - 17 MARCH - Brendan Wise has also been sent to minor league camp


UPDATE - 16 MARCH - Chris Oxspring has also been sent to minor league camp

More cuts are happening across the board now, and thanks to the good folks at the Australian Baseball Digest for picking up on the latest two Aussies to head back down to minor league camp. Justin Huber and Drew Naylor have joined Joel Naughton back in the minor league ranks. 

Huber was never really in contention for a spot on the 25-man roster, but having been out of the States for a couple of years, the Twins would have been keen to see how he came back. As for Naylor, he did quite well in his limited opportunities - but I think he is more of a long-term investment for the Phillies. He will definitely be someone to watch through the minors this year. 

This takes the number of Aussies involved in Spring training back to ten, four non-roster invitees and six who are on the 40-man roster for their clubs.

List of Non-Roster Invitees
Shane Lindsay, Chicago White Sox
Chris Oxspring, Detroit Tigers
Brendan Wise, Detroit Tigers
Justin Huber, Minnesota Twins
Joel Naughton, Phildelphia Phillies
Trent Oeltjen, LA Dodgers


List of players on the 40-man roster
Ryan Rowland-Smith, Houston Astros 
Drew Naylor, Philadelphia Phillies
Peter Moylan, Atlanta Braves
Grant Balfour, Oakland Athletics
Rich Thompson, LA Angels
Luke Hughes, Minnesota Twins
Brad Thomas, Detroit Tigers

I will update this list through Spring Training as things change

Spring Training 2011: Week Two Review - Moylan Hot

Week Two of Major League Baseball Spring Training wrapped up today, with many Australian baseballers producing very solid results. There are now 18 days to go until Opening Day, and there are still 12 Australians  in contention for a place on the Opening Day roster for their respective clubs. There are at least four who look to be certainties for starting the season on the 25-man roster (Peter Moylan, Grant Balfour, Brad Thomas, and Rich Thompson), and at least another five who can stake a genuine claim to a position (Brendan Wise, Chris Oxspring, Shane Lindsay, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Luke Hughes).

The story of the week for Week Two has to be Peter Moylan, who was at his unhittable best in a few outings for the Atlanta Braves. Other notable achievements included solid pitching from Rich Thompson, Brad Thomas, Drew Naylor and Shane Lindsay, and some good hitting from Luke Hughes and Trent Oeltjen.

The usual process at Spring Training is to start with a really large squad and then progressively cut it down as the weeks go by. So far, most teams have had at least one cut. At this point in time, only one Aussie - Joel Naughton, the 24-year-old catcher in the Phillies' organisation - has been cut from the 13 who started on day one.

A week for the pitchers


While last week it was one of the Aussie hitters who led the way, in Luke Hughes, this week our pitchers made quite the resurgence. They were led by veteran sidearmer Peter Moylan, who was nothing short of dominant in his two appearances.

Peter Moylan

In an excellent feature posted on MLB.com this week, Mark Bowman wrote about Moylan's rise to Major League Baseball. He noted that in the four-plus years since making his debut in April 2006, Moylan has posted a 2.58 ERA and made 274 appearances, which is 112 more than any other Atlanta pitcher over that period. 


He showed that strength this week - pitching two innings over two appearances and five of the six outs he registered were strikeouts. He was not exactly facing the best talent in baseball this week. Moylan pitched to a bunch of youngish hitters from the Yankees and the Mets. However, Moylan did what he is paid to do, he gave up just one hit, did not walk a batter and made short work of both teams. 

Brad Thomas

Brad Thomas is another veteran relief pitcher who had a good week. For the second week in a row he appeared in three games, although this week he gave up just one hit. Thomas is a guy who had probably surprised a few people with the quality of his season last year, and he is probably not quite assured of a place on the Tigers' Opening Day roster unless he can keep his form up. Tigers' Manager Jim Leyland has noticed the quality of Thomas' spring camp though, and he puts it down to improvements in Thomas' curveball. 'His breaking ball is better,' Leyland told The Detroit News. 'He's more apt to handle a lefty than he was last year'. Apparently Thomas has been working on a new grip to give his curve some more bite. 


Two other Aussie relief pitchers have been getting noticed this week too. In particular, Shane Lindsay has surged into contention for a spot in the Chicago White Sox bullpen. Lindsay has been kicking around the minors for about eight years, previously with the Colorado Rockies. However a couple of very strong performances this spring, including a three-up three-down performance in his debut game for the White Sox. Lindsay has quite a variety of pitches according to The Chicago Sun-Times. He is said to throw a fastball, curve and changeup and is adding a slider-cutter. 'I like it here and what they are preaching. They are keeping it simple, not trying to over-coach me, and they're willing to work with what has worked for me. It's really good...' he told the Sun-Times. 

Rich Thompson

Alongside Lindsay, and quietly going about his business has been Rich Thompson at the Los Angeles Angels. Thompson  pitched two scoreless innings over two appearances this week, allowing just three hits while striking out four. Like Moylan above, Thompson didn't face off against the cream of the crop, but he did face (and strikeout) some genuine big leaguers like Justin Upton and Russell Branyan. Thompson is in an interesting spot - he is out of minor league options. This means that if the Angels decide they want to cut him from the big league 25-man roster, he must go through the waivers process on the way down to the minors, meaning that he could be picked up by another club. Angels' skipper Mike Scioscia has been considering taking a 12 man pitching roster - which would be good for Thompson, however the Los Angeles Times has reported that Scioscia might toy with the idea of an 11 man option, which could make things interesting. All Rich can do at this point is keep putting the numbers up. 


Also solid this week were Chris Oxspring (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SO) and Drew NaylorAstros number five starter. Perhaps working in his favour is the fact that the Astros are not looking very strong all round at the moment, so management may be willing to take a gamble. 


Aussies with the bat

Luke Hughes

With Joel Naughton dropping out of the big league squad for the Phillies there are just three Aussie hitters left in contention - Luke Hughes and Justin Huber at the Twins, and Trent Oeltjen at the Dodgers. This week all three had a pretty solid week. The highlights were a three-run homerun to Oeltjen as the Dodgers got shellacked by the Royals, and Luke Hughes' amazing consistency. This week Hughes hit two doubles, a home run and five RBIs. His average for the spring is now .333. Of the hitters, Hughes still looks the most likely to find a home on an Opening Day roster. The Twins have been experimenting with him in a number of positions in the infield and the outfield. Justin Huber has not been as consistent or as powerful as the Twins would like, and Trent Oeltjen is likely to fall victim to the fact that the Dodgers have approximately three hundred and forty two outfielders, and just not enough room for them all.

What will we be watching next week?
1. What is going to happen with Shane Lindsay? Will he get more opportunities to shine, and will he seize them?
2. Can Rich Thompson keep putting up good numbers, and will it be enough to earn him a spot on Opening Day?
3. Can Luke Hughes learn how to play shortstop or find some other way to make it onto the Twins roster?
4. When will Grant Balfour settle into some rhythm?
5. Can Ryan Rowland-Smith take some positives out of last week's game and build a strong performance?

As always, do what the pros do (including Ryan Rowland-Smith, Rich Thompson and Peter Moylan) and follow me on twitter for all the latest Oz MLB Player updates.

UPDATED - List of Aussie Baseballers in Major League Spring Training Camps

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED AS AT 15 MARCH 2011


First cuts have taken place in most squads now. The good news is that most Aussies have avoided them!. Unfortunately, Joel Naughton has not though, and was sent to the minor league camp. 


Naughton would have to be reasonably pleased with his spring though - and he may get a look in with the Phillies at some time during the year. His line for his time with the big leaguers was 3 games, 3 at bats for 2 hits and 1 RBI.

This takes the number of Aussies involved in Spring training back to twelve, five non-roster invitees and seven who are on the 40-man roster for their clubs.

List of Non-Roster Invitees
Shane Lindsay, Chicago White Sox
Chris Oxspring, Detroit Tigers
Brendan Wise, Detroit Tigers
Justin Huber, Minnesota Twins
Joel Naughton, Phildelphia Phillies
Trent Oeltjen, LA Dodgers


List of players on the 40-man roster
Ryan Rowland-Smith, Houston Astros 
Drew Naylor, Philadelphia Phillies
Peter Moylan, Atlanta Braves
Grant Balfour, Oakland Athletics
Rich Thompson, LA Angels
Luke Hughes, Minnesota Twins
Brad Thomas, Detroit Tigers

I will update this list through Spring Training as things change

Channel Nine coverage of Grant Balfour contract

So, I am sitting up, half listening to the TV as I go about a little bit of work before hitting the office tomorrow morning, and I hear on the Channel Nine News break 'Australian man signs eight million dollar contract to play baseball'....

Hmmm. 'What the hell?' is the first thing that comes to mind. I looked up and caught some footage of Grant Balfour throwing in some postseason action from a couple of years ago.

So, I open up the web and hit the NineMSN website, where I find this:

The sidebar shows that Balfour has signed a huge deal with the Angels!!!! What the hell? I better watch this story.

WARNING ----> RANT COMMENCES BELOW

I clicked on play, and you can too here, and got quite a few laughs out of it. Firstly, they report that Balfour has 'just signed a deal'.

ARE YOU KIDDING CHANNEL NINE!!!!

It happened on the 15th of January!

Secondly, as is the way with all the modern 'news' programs, they have emblazoned across the top one of their watermarks, so everyone is clear who broke the 'news' 'first'. Anyways, this one says 'First on 9'. HA!!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING CHANNEL NINE!!!!!

The story was ALL OVER the internet for days before it even broke. It was reasonably big news at the time, as the hot stove had cooled a little bit. It was widely reported online, both overseas and at home.

In fact, that great institution of journalistic integrity, professionalism and award-winning writing - the Daily Telegraph - broke the story on the 17th of January. That's 48 days ago! And, yours truly broke it on Twitter on 15th January.

'First on 9' obviously means 'first time they have featured a baseball story this month'. Silly me for thinking otherwise.

Oh and finally, they featured Balf in all his Oakland gear, and mentioned in the article a number of times that he played for the Athletics, yet their online team got it wrong and wrote Angels.

COME ON!!!! GET A CLUE!!!

RANT OVER

Ok, so I feel better now. It is great to see some mainstream media coverage, and great to see Channel Nine send their LA correspondent to visit Balfour during Spring Training camp. But a little more research and attention to detail, and a little less patting-yourself-on-the-back-for-something-you-don't-even-deserve, would have earned Channel Nine a lot more cred.

Spring Training 2011: Week One Review - Hughes the Man

One week of Spring Training is in the books. The countdown to Opening Day has begun, and there have been no less than 11 Aussie baseballers in action in Major League camps. Of the 13 participating in Major League Spring Training, only Shane Lindsay (CWS) and Drew Naylor (PHI) have yet to appear in official action.

It has been a bit of a mixed bag really. There have been some strong performances, and some slow starts. Some of the Aussies who will be a part of Opening Day rosters have been a bit rusty. And the guys battling for a roster spot have had mixed results.

High points for the week

So far the stand out has been Luke Hughes for the Minnesota Twins.

Luke Hughes of the Minnesota Twins warming up for the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League

Hughes has had a hot bat to start the year, with a 1.064 OPS in the ABL, and he has followed this good form into Spring Training. In five games so far, Hughes has gone 5-for-13, with two home runs and five RBIs, as well as a stolen base.

It has been enough to generate a lot of attention from Twins fans, and from management. Hughes' challenge has always been finding a spot in the Minnesota infield that contains seasoned pros like Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer. He has long been recognised as having the bat for the majors, but maybe lacking a little in defense. Things might be starting to line up nicely for him this year though. There is some doubt over Justin Morneau, Hughes has had a great (and long) pre-season, and he is attracting praise from Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire, who told the Miami Herald:


"If he can stay healthy he can be a force. He's got some pretty good tools. He can play third, he can play second, he can probably play first. I think he can go in the outfield too. He's got enough bat that he can play every day. He's got a lot of upside, as far as I am concerned."


So far so good. This week the Twins have a few games against the Cardinals, the Red Sox and the Blue Jays, among others. We'll be keeping a close eye on Hughes, as well as some of the other Twins infielders, to see how things shape up.

Chris Oxspring

Other notable performances this week have come from the Tigers Trio - Brad Thomas, Chris Oxspring and Brendan Wise.

Oxspring has been good, giving up no earned runs, although he did take the loss in one of his appearances.

Brendan Wise has also been strong, only allowing two hits and one earned run in his 3.1 innings of work. And predictably, Brad Thomas has been sound, giving up only one run over 4 innings pitched.

Brad Thomas is a dead cert to start the season on the roster, and so far both Oxspring and Wise won't have done their chances any harm, although it still seems likely that they will start the year in AAA.

Rich Thompson also had a good week - giving up just one hit, and striking out two, in two innings of work for the Angels.

Not quite so high points for the week


Elsewhere it has been a bit of a battle for the Aussies. Some of our pitchers have been roughed up a bit, and a few hitters have been struggling to get bat on ball.

Trent Oeltjen

Trent Oeltjen has been plying his trade for the Dodgers, trying to make a bench spot for the Opening Day roster. He has not had a great deal of game time so far - usually coming in off the bench in the later innings, and he has only managed to scrape together one hit, an RBI single today. His line for the week is 1-for-6 with two strikeouts.

Trent must have been wondering what he was in for late in the week when he came up against Reds firebrand Aroldis Chapman, who has been known to clock 105mph on the radar. The first pitch Trent faced was over the plate but at about head height. "If that had been at my face, I probably wouldn't have had time to move...when you're coming off the bench and that's the first pitch you see, it wakes you up. He is one of the hardest throwers in the game, and he's a left-hander" he said. Trent - perhaps not surprisingly - ended up striking out.

Grant Balfour

While his team mate Luke Hughes has been on fire, Justin Huber has not had it so easy over at the Twins. Much like Oeltjen, Huber has had a lot of time coming in off the bench and has had to scrub together whatever he can. It took a few days to get going, and he has struck out in four of eight at bats, but Huber finished the week with a double.

In the pitching side of things, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Peter Moylan and Grant Balfour all got roughed up in at least one appearance this week.  Balfour was probably the worst of the lot. Against the Reds early in the week he started strong - getting two outs without too much damage. But he then gave up three hits, allowing three runs. While this was not a great start to the week, he bounced back on Friday, throwing one inning with one hit and a strikeout against the Rangers.



What we will be watching next week
There are a few storylines we will be following closely next week:
1. Can Luke Hughes keep up his hot form? And will it be enough to land him a spot on Opening Day?
Astros rotation?
3. Will some of the fringe guys like Oeltjen, Huber, Naughton and Naylor get a chance to showcase their wares?

Remember, for all the latest Oz MLB updates, follow me on twitter!