I’ve been meaning to get around to doing this for awhile, but I thought it would be good to do a monthly update on how former York Revolution players are doing in the minors and majors. With seven former Revs in affiliated minor league ball and one in the majors, it might be hard to keep track on what’s going on with each. Here’s the list with updates on each, listed by position, name and team he’s playing for:

LHP Scott Rice, New York Mets: Rice, 31, played for York in 2011, going 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 relief appearances. He earned a spot in the New York Mets’ bullpen to start the season, marking his big league debut after 14 seasons in the minors. In 17 relief appearances (through Saturday), Rice is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA.

RHP Shawn Hill, Class AAA Toledo (Detroit Tigers): Hill, 32, went 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA in seven games (five starts) for the Revs in 2012 before being picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to Class AAA Las Vegas. He would make it back to the majors at the end of last season, pitching in one game for Toronto. So far at Toledo, the right-hander is 0-2 with a 3.99 ERA in six starts (through Saturday).

LHP Ian Thomas, Class AA Mississippi (Atlanta Braves): Thomas, 26, pitched for York to start the 2012 season, going 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in seven relief appearances before being picked up by the Braves and assigned to Class A Rome. That would mark his first time pitching in affiliated ball in his career. Thomas has spent the entire 2013 season at Mississippi, posting a 3-1 record and 1.20 ERA in 10 relief appearances (through Saturday).

LHP Ryan Feierabend, Class AAA Round Rock (Texas Rangers): Feierabend, 27, went 8-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 17 starts for the Revs in 2012. The former big leaguer began the year with the Rangers’ Class AA Frisco club, where he posted a 3,86 ERA in five starts to earn a promotion to Round Rock. In his only start for Round Rock on Friday, Feierabend allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings of work, striking out six and walking two. The lefty is aiming to get back to the majors for the first time since 2008.

RHP Omar Javier, Class AA Richmond (San Francisco Giants): Javier, 25, had a 1-6 record and 5.67 ERA in 22 games (nine starts) for York in 2012. In nine appearances thus far for Richmond, the Dominican Republic native is 2-0 with a 5.51 ERA (through Saturday). The Class AA level is the highest Javier has reached in his now six-year pro career.

LHP Justin Hampson, Class AAA Las Vegas (New York Mets): Hampson, 32, played for the Revs in 2010, going 1-0 with a 4.96 ERA in 11 relief appearances. He made it back to the majors last season with the Mets, posting a 1.80 ERA in 13 games. In 14 appearances thus far at Las Vegas, Hampson has a 1-0 record and 5.40 ERA (through Saturday).

OF Michael Hernandez, Class High A Lakeland (Detroit Tigers): Hernandez, 29, batted .303 with 13 homers, 55 RBIs and 55 runs scored in 104 games for York last season. He began the 2013 season at Class A West Michigan, where he hit .289 with no homers, six RBIs and seven runs scored in 11 games to earn a call-up to Lakeland. In seven games (through Saturday) at Lakeland, Hernandez is batting .222 with a homer, five RBIs and three runs scored. Hernandez is still trying to reach the big leagues in his ninth year as a pro.

RHP Josh Judy, Class AA Arkansas (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim): Judy made his first appearance out of the bullpen for Arkansas on Saturday and gave up a run on walk and a hit with one strikeout. The right-hander is just two years removed from making his big league debut with the Cleveland Indians in 2011. The Angels picked up Judy on Thursday after he went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four relief appearances for the Revs.

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In case you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s an earlier blog entry on former Rev Scott Rice making his MLB debut with the New York Mets on Monday. Rice threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two.

With MLB rosters set, I thought this would be a good time to give an update on where former Revolution players are (or aren’t in some cases) in affiliated ball.

We started off with a list of 12 former York ballplayers in minor league or major league camp: OF/corner infielder Chris Nowak (Diamondbacks), outfielder Mike Hernandez (Tigers) and pitchers Scott Rice (Mets), Justin Hampson (Mets) Andy Wells (Mets), Victor Garate (Dodgers), Mike Benacka (Blue Jays), Ryan Feierabend (Rangers), Shawn Hill (Tigers), Mike DeMark (Diamondbacks), Ian Thomas (Braves) and Omar Javier (Giants).

Of that group, Rice is the only one who began the 2013 season on a big league roster. As for the rest of them? Well, six will begin the season playing somewhere in the minors, four are currently free agents after being released by their respective clubs and one – Nowak – has retired after being released by the D’Backs last month.

In the minors: Of all former Revs players starting the 2013 season in affiliated ball, Hill has the best chance of making it to the big leagues this year. Hill, a former big leaguer, had a 4.50 ERA in three spring training starts and six total appearances with the Tigers’ big league club. In his final spring training start last week, the right-hander Hill allowed just two runs on six hits in five innings of work against the Atlanta Braves, striking out three and walking none. He’s expected to be in the starting rotation at Class AAA Toledo to start this season. Hill, 31, went 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA in seven games (five starts) for the Revs last season before being picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to Class AAA Las Vegas, where he went 9-2 with a 4.52 ERA in 15 starts. The performance earned him a call-up to the Blue Jays’ big league roster at the end of the season, marking his first return to the majors since 2010.

Thomas, 25, earned a promotion to Class AA Mississippi (Braves), where he’ll begin the 2013 season. The 6-foot-4 lefty came to York just three years removed from playing college ball at Virginia Commonwealth. He spent his first three seasons of pro ball playing for independent club Winnipeg (formerly North American League, now American Association). He started the 2012 season in York, compiling a 1-0 record and 0.96 ERA in seven relief appearances before getting picked up by the Atlanta Braves and assigned to Class A Rome, where he went 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA in 26 games.

Javier, 25, hasn’t pitched above rookie ball in his affiliated career. He is listed on the roster of the Class AA Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants), which begins its season Thursday. The right-hander went 1-6 with a 5.67 ERA in 22 games (nine starts) for the Revs in 2012. After being released by the Revs in late July, Javier went on to pitch for Newark. He started six games for the Bears, posting a 2-2 record and a 3.74 ERA over 33.2 innings pitched. This past winter, he posted a 1-0 record and 2.27 ERA in 11 games (six starts) playing for Estrellas de Oriente in the Dominican Republic (where he was teammates with former Revs’ pitcher Scott Rice along with pitchers Julio DePaula and Pedro Liriano, both of whom are on York’s current pre-season roster, along with a number of former Atlantic Leaguers).

Hernandez, 29, will begin the 2013 season where he first began his pro career in 2006, at Class A West Michigan (Tigers), according to this blog post. The post states that Hernandez helped “the team win the Midwest League Championship” in 2006, hitting “for the cycle twice that season, and set a record at the time with seven RBI’s in one game.” The move of playing for a single-a club might raise some eyebrows, but when you figure Hernandez has had good seasons in the Atlantic League each of the last four years but didn’t get picked up by a big league club, I don’t blame him for trying this route. Hernandez batted .303 with with 13 homers and 55 RBIs in 104 games for the Revs in 2012.

Hampson will start the 2013 season at Class AAA Las Vegas 51s, the triple-a affiliate of the New York Mets. He got a call up to the Mets’ big league spring training club last week but got roughed up in the appearance, allowing a run on two doubles and a single in two innings of work against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hampson pitched for the Revs and the Long Island Ducks in 2010 and spent the majority of the last two years at the Mets’ Class AAA Buffalo affiliate. He earned a promotion to the major league club near the end of last season, returning to the big leagues for the first time since 2009. He posted a 1.30 ERA in 13 appearances.

Feierabend, 27, is still on a quest to make it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2008. He’ll continue that journey by starting out at Class AA Frisco (Rangers) this year, according to this press release. The 6-foot-4 lefty went 8-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 17 starts for York last season. He got picked up mid-season by the Cincinnati Reds and assigned to Class AAA Louisville, where he went 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in seven starts before being released and returning to the Revs.

DeMark, 29, signed with Oakland Athletics’ organization shortly after being released by the Arizona Diamondbacks in mid-March. The 6-foot right-hander began the 2011 season with York, posting a 2.61 ERA in 13 appearances before being picked up by the D’Backs that year. He spent all of the 2012 season pitching for D’Backs’ Class AAA Reno club, going 5-5 with a 4.19 ERA in 53 games.

Wells, 24, is a free agent after being released by the Mets last week. Wells made just three appearances for York last season, allowing a total of 10 runs (eight earned) on eight hits and nine walks in 4.1 innings of work (16.62 ERA), before being released in June. He has been pitching indy ball his entire three-year pro career.

Garate, 24, is a still a free agent since being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-March. The former big leaguer made one appearance with York in 2012, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in 1.2 innings. A Venezuela native, Garate pitched in four games with the Washington Nationals in 2009, posting a 22.50 ERA.

Benacka, 30, is still a free agent since being released by the Toronto Blue Jays in mid-March. The 6-foot-2 right-hander collected a 3.60 ERA in five appearances for York last season. York traded him back to American Association club Laredo in the off-season. As a result, Laredo owns his rights should Benacka opt to return to the indy scene.

Other Revs on the move: The Long Island Ducks announced Monday the return of infielder Bryant Nelson, who played for the Revs in 2011. Juan Martinez, younger brother of former Revs’ catcher Octavio, will make his return to the Atlantic League in 2013 with the Camden Riversharks. Martinez, 26, played in 12 games for York in 2011. He split last season between Camden and Newark (Can-Am League). According to the Can-Am League’s transactions page, Newark traded Martinez to Camden late last week.

Former Atlantic Leaguers are spring training releases: Slugger Ryan Garko and outfielder/pitcher Jason Lane, both former big leaguers and former Atlantic Leaguers, became free agents last week. Garko clubbed four homers, collected 16 RBIs and batted .450 in just 16 games for the Long Island Ducks to start last season before being picked up by the Tampa Bay Rays and assigned to Class AA Montgomery, where he hit .297 with eight homers and 40 RBIs in 61 games. He was released by the Colorado Rockies last week.

Lane, 36, began the 2012 season at Class AAA Reno, where he went 2-0 with a 7.59 ERA in 15 relief appearances on the mound and batted .167 in 10 games at the plate while also playing the outfield. He later joined the Sugar Land and posted a 9-5 record and 3.17 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) while batting .270 in 75 games. Called up to the Minnesota Twins big league spring training club last week, Lane got tagged with a blown save by allowing three runs on five hits in one inning of work in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Twins released him last week.

Former Bridgeport Bluefish outfielder Collin DeLome also became a free agent after the Atlanta Braves released him last week. Last season, DeLome batted .368 with five homers and 22 RBIs in just 23 games before being picked up by the Braves.

The Boston Red Sox released starting pitcher J.D. Durbin last week. Durbin, 31, is still trying to get back to the big leagues since last pitching there in 2007. The 6-foot right-hander had a combined 22-13 record and 4.68 ERA in 45 starts for the Lancaster Barnstormers the last two seasons.

Former Lancaster Barnstormers’ reliever Jeff Bennett was released by the Colorado Rockies last week. Bennett, 32, last pitched in the majors in 2009. He went 4-8 with a 3.56 ERA in 52 appearances for Lancaster last year.

The Washington Nationals released outfielder Delwyn Young last week. Young, 30, has 344 games of big league experience under his belt. He spent part of the 2012 season with the Camden Riversharks, batting .191 in 32 games.

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One is a big-name pitcher (at least in Revs’ history). The other not so much. As pointed out on the Revs’ blogtoblogchamps.com blog and first reported by mlive.com, former Revs’ starter Shawn Hill has signed with the Detroit Tigers.

Hill, if you remember, started off the year with York out of the bullpen, giving up a combined eight earned runs in two appearances. He then switched to his normal role as a starter and pitched a combined 27.2 scoreless innings, setting a new club record in the process. The Blue Jays signed Hill in June and he went on to put up a 9-2 record and 4.52 ERA at Class AAA Las Vegas. The Blue Jays called him up to the big league roster in the final week of the season. Hill made the most of his one relief appearance. Facing the New York Yankees on Sept. 29.

According to the mlive.com article, Hill elected free agency after the season instead of accepting an assignment to Class AAA Las Vegas. He’ll apparently be used as a starter for the Tigers’ Class AAA Toledo club. All of this is pretty remarkable considering Hill’s recent journey back the majors after what he had been through.

Javier: The other pitcher to get an affiliated deal? Right-hander Omar Javier. (Credit to Revs’ media guru Paul Braverman for first bringing this to light). That’s right, the same pitcher who gathered  a 5.67 ERA and 1-6 record in nine starts and 13 relief appearances for York has found a deal with a big league club. Javier apparently has an invite to the San Francisco Giants’ spring training, according to press release sent out by the Newark Bears. After being released by the Revs in late July, Javier went on to pitch for Newark. He started six games for the Bears, posting a 2-2 record and a 3.74 ERA over 33.2 innings pitched. The Dominican Republic native has a shot at making the Giants’ Class AA Richmond (Va) Flying Squirrels club.

Rice: Javier has yet to give up a run in one start and three relief appearances for  in the winter Dominican Baseball League for the Oriente Stars. Also playing for the Stars is former Revs’ reliever Scott Rice, who has a 2.45 ERA in 10 relief appearances. Rice pitched for the Revs in 2011, going 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 games before being picked up by the L.A. Dodgers. He went 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA at Class AAA Albuquerque last season.

Former big leaguer and Camden Riversharks’ outfielder Felix Pie and former big leaguer and Skeeters’ pitcher Pedro Liriano are also playing for the Stars.

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Here it is, the fourth and final recap of the 2012 York Revolution squad, this time on the bullpen and catchers (sorry catchers, no separate post for perhaps the toughest position in baseball). My apologies on getting around to this late, been a little busy covering high school sports as we get into the time of the year for league titles, playoffs, districts and beyond, as well as catching up on reading all the Sports Illustrateds that have been laying around the house for weeks (seriously, who can read those things front to back each week?) and breaking my ankles jumping on and off the Baltimore Orioles’ bandwagon (don’t act like you weren’t doing the same). Anyway, before we get to that, wanted to point out a couple newsworthy items worth checking out:

- Atlantic League expansion…to the Caribbean?: YDR Revs’ beat writer Jim Seip did a good job reporting on Peter Kirk’s intentions of possibly expanding the Atlantic League to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico or Cuba (yes, really, Cuba). This would make sense, considering at least a fifth of most Atlantic League rosters are made up of players from the Caribbean. A roster could easily be filled should the league want to travel far down south. And if it can be any kind of draw like Sugar Land, why not give it a shot? The only question mark would be travel costs. It makes no sense to do it if the league loses money.

- Camden front office: The Riversharks sent out a press release Monday announcing longtime general manager Adam Lorber is being promoted to general manager AND team president. Lorber has served as the team’s GM since 2003. In addition, Lindsay Rosenberg, who has spent the last four seasons in group sales has been promoted to the position of assistant general manager. Rosenberg earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports, Entertainment and Event Management from Johnson and Wales (Rhode Island) University in 2009. While attending school, she had opportunities to work at both Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA and at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Now on to the recap….

 

As far as publicity goes, the guys in the bullpen have it tough. Position players and starting pitchers normally get most of the attention. On the rare occasion a reliever gets anything said about him, it’s normally because he’s been lights-out as a closer or a set-up man or he made an impressive spot start. So, if a reliever doesn’t fit that category, he’s probably left out on the street with the rest of the guys who don’t get much attention, even if they might have an interesting back-story. So, lets just say this blog post is my attempt at making up for all of that….

At the start: At the start of the year, York’s bullpen consisted of right-handers Dumas Garcia, Ricardo Gomez, Omar Javier, Santo Luis, Stephen Penney, R.J. Rodriguez, Shaun Garceau and Adam Thomas and left-handers James Houser, Yunior Novoa and Ian Thomas. By the end Gomez, Novoa, Penney, Rodriguez and Thomas were all that were left of the original bunch. Newcomers on York’s year-end roster included right-handers Mike Benacka and Kris Regas and left-hander Wade Korpi.

Come and go: Garcia (1-0, 6.00 ERA, 27 games), Garceau (0-0, 7-71 ERA, 3 games), Houser (2-1, 5.50 ERA, 33 games), Javier (1-6, 5.66 ERA, 22 games) and Luis (0-0, 4-50 ERA, 3 games) were all released at some point in the season, while right-hander Andy Wells (0-0, 16.61 ERA, 3 games) and left-handers Matt Chico (1-3, 7.50 ERA, six starts) and Victor Garate (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 1 game) were on the short list of pitchers who joined York mid-season but would be released before the end of the year.

Picked up: Thomas the only York reliever and one of three Revs’ players to earn a big league contract this season (all three were pitchers)  in 2012. The 25-year-old earned his first affiliated contract after putting together a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 innings of relief for York. He had spent his first three pro seasons with independent club Winnipeg (Northern League/American Association) before coming to York. In 26 relief appearances for Rome, the lefty went 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA, striking out 58 and walking 15 over 45.2 innings pitched.

8th/9th inning guys: Right-hander R.J. Rodriguez started off the year as the Revs’ closer but lost the job to Ricardo Gomez when he left for the Mexican League mid-season. Adam Thomas served as the Revs’ set-up man the majority of the first-half and then split the duties with Rodriguez when he returned. Rodriguez did fill in as the ninth-inning guy occasionally in the final couple months. Rodriguez went 2-3 with a 2.02 ERA and 13 saves over 55 appearances. Thomas had a 8-2 record and 3.65 ERA in 67 appearances (64 innings), striking out 42 and walking 15. Gomez collected 17 saves, 2.66 ERA and 4-1 record in 46 games (47.1 innings).

Middle relief: Left-handers Yunior Novoa (2-6, 4.71 ERA, five starts, 38 games), Kris Regas (3-2, 2.78 ERA, 44 games) and Wade Korpi (4-0, 2.26 ERA, 3 starts, 18 games) and right-hander Stephen Penney (2-1, 3.13 ERA, 62 games) had good seasons in the ‘pen.

Novoa went back-and-forth between the bullpen and starting rotation at the start of the year before serving mainly as a reliever in the final few months. Korpi ended up being a good mid-season pick-up for the Revs. The lefty was lights-out in his three spot starts, putting up a stellar 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings.

One other middle reliever, Mike Benacka, joined York in the final month of the season and had a 1-0 record, 3.00 ERA and one save in six relief appearances. But he took the loss after giving up four runs on one hit and two walks in 2/3 of an inning in Game Two of the Freedom Division Championship Series against Lancaster. The Revs didn’t like what they saw, either, sending him back to the Laredo Lemurs (American Association) after the season.

Catchers: Instead of dedicating a whole blog post to the catchers, it’ll be included here as more an honorable mention (sorry Travis Scott and Salomon Manriquez). York started off the year with Scott and Salvador Paniagua behind the dish. Etch’ used the left-handed hitting Scott and right-handed hitting Paniagua as a platoon. York released Paniagua on July 19 and signed Manriquez the next day. It’s tough in the Atlantic League to find a solid defensive catcher who can also hit well. And when that rare guy comes along, he’s normally picked up right away by a big league club since that’s so rare. That’s why it’s tough to be hard on Atlantic League clubs about not finding a solid-hitting catcher. Plus, it has to be hard on catchers to have a good batting average considering they’re not playing every game for obvious reasons.

With all that being said, Scott had a .228 average with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 81 games while Manriquez finished with a .287 average, two homers and 16 RBIs in 32 games. Manriquez upped his batting average in his final 18 games, during which he went he hit .387. Paniagua departed mid-season with a .227 average over 40 games.

(Note*The following stats are through Game 2 of the FDCS) As far as how they performed behind the plate, Paniagua caught in 40 games (38 starts) and caught a total of 328.2 innings. York pitchers had a 4.11 ERA with Paniagua catching. Revs’ pitchers were about the same in the 601.1 innings with Scott behind the dish with a 4.12 ERA. Manriquez, meanwhile, made 32 starts to help Revs’ pitchers get a 3.63 ERA in his 275.1 innings catching. However, all three had trouble throwing out runners at second and third. Paniagua caught 5 of the 40 guys who stole on him, while Scott gunned 12 of 48 and Manriquez nailed down just three of 25 base-stealers. That’s a combined percentage of 17.7 (20 caught of 113 base-stealers).

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This is a third of a four-part series taking a look back at the 2012 York Revolution. If you haven’t already, check out the recap of the Revs’ infield here or read the recap of outfield here. Also, I finally got around to putting up a recap of the 31 players picked up by big league clubs in 2012, which includes the final results of the what those players did with their respective affiliated and (for a pair of players) big league clubs.

Anyway, before we get to the Revs recap on starting pitching, here are a couple other noteworthy items to check out:

–Atlantic League improvements: Check out my column from Monday about what areas the Atlantic League can improve in 2013. Includes umpires, length of games and drug testing. There were a few other items that could’ve been thrown in there, but for the sake of space those were the top three for me.

–Ducks are the champs: The Long Island Ducks forced a Game 5 with the Lancaster Barnstormers and ended up taking the deciding contest by a final score of 5-4. And the Ducks won the game in dramatic fashion, getting the win run across the plate in the bottom of the ninth with two outs on a suicide squeeze. Gotta say I’m shocked Long Island pulled this off. I thought for sure Lancaster would win this in four games. Check out the full story from Lancaster Intelligencer Journal-New Era reporter Burt Wilson here. With the victory, Long Island earns its second league title and first since 2004.

–Loudoun: The Loudoun (Va) Hounds announced last week that it had reached a new financing deal and a new location for a ballpark, with hopes to begin playing in the Atlantic League in 2014. Then again, we heard much of the same news roughly this time last year, only to see things fall through. I caught up with Peter Kirk about this topic last week. Kirk is the chairman of Opening Day Partners, which owns five of the eight teams in the Atlantic League. Kirk confirmed that Loudoun is not yet an official member of the Atlantic League. Here’s what he had to say:

“The league has given them a period of exclusivity to put a deal together. That’s all they have. The league doesn’t like to have the same people running around in the same market area putting a deal together. Loudoun has done a fantastic job with marketing and positioning of the team. They seem to have most of approvals for a stadium. They seem to have their financing together. They asked the league if they can move to another sight. We didn’t really care about that part. It’s up to them as far as the location they’d like to put a park. It’s a great market and it fits geographically with the league. I hope it works out.”

Second Texas team?: Kirk also gave an update on a possible second team in Texas after the success of the expansion Sugar Land Skeeters in 2012. Kirk has stated numerous times that ODP has been working with towns in the Houston area over the past year with the goal of bringing a second Atlantic League club to the area. Here’s what he had to stay this time around regarding a second Texas club:

“I’m hopeful in 2013 we will have identified at least one more city out there. Hopefully we start bringing them into the league in 2014. That’s the plan. Hopefully we can accomplish it.”

 

With all of that out of the way, here’s the recap of the Revs’ 2012 pitching staff:

York started out with the rotation of RHP Corey Thurman, RHP Ryan Feierabend, LHP Chris Cody as the top four starters. Veteran lefty Jesus Sanchez eventually won the fifth spot, beating out lefty Yunior Novoa and right-handers Omar Javier and Shaun Garceau for the job.

In the end, the Revs relied on Thurman, Feierabend and Cody for most of the year, with lefty Chris Waters and righty Derrick Gordon joining the team mid-season and having decent performances with York.

Picked up: The Revs saw two starters get picked up by big league clubs during the season. The Cincinnati Reds signed Feierabend after he went 3-2 with a 3.24 ERA in seven starts for York. At Class Louisville, the lefty posted a 1-4 record and 6.75 ERA in seven starts before being released by the Reds. Feierabend then returned to York and finished the regular season with a 9-5 record and 2.70 ERA in 18 starts in the Atlantic League for the Revs.

 

 

 

Right-hander Shawn Hill was a bit more successful. The righty started off the year with York out of the bullpen, giving up a combined eight earned runs in two appearances. He then switched to his normal role as a starter and pitched a combined 27.2 scoreless innings, setting a new club record in the process. The Blue Jays signed Hill in June and he went on to put up a 9-2 record and 4.52 ERA at Class AAA Las Vegas. The Blue Jays called him up to the big league roster in the final week of the season. Hill made the most of his one relief appearance. Facing the New York Yankees on Sept. 29, Hill relieved Blue Jays’ starter Ricky Romero and went on to toss three scoreless innings, walking two to pick up his first major league win since 2010 – which came with Toronto. Hill became the first pitcher to return to the majors and earn a win after playing for the Revs.

Garceau, Sanchez: A pair of notable moves were made in June when York released right-hander Shauen Garceau and left-hander Jesus Sanchez. Both made significant contributions for York in the previous year or two, but had drop-offs in 2012.

In 2011, Garceau went 4-11 with a 5.45 ERA in 21 starts and 11 relief appearances going back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. He had his best stretch that year from June 29 to Sept. 11 when he went 3-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 20 games (10 starts). Additionally, he came within two outs of a complete-game shutout tossing a then career-high 8.1 IP. Two starts later he notched a complete-game shout with a four-hitter and nine Ks against the Road Warriors. In 201, Garceau was plagued by injuries all season. He first pitched for the Revs on May 4, tossing a scoreless inning in relief against Bridgeport. He would go on the inactive list the next day to recover from tendonitis in his throwing arm. He returned a month later and gave up two runs on one hit and a walk in one inning of relief against Camden on June 5. He tossed scoreless third of an inning on June 7, but was released shortly after. The right-hander moved on to the Kansas City T-Bones (American Association) and went 9-6 with a 3.47 ERAin 16 starts and one relief appearance.

The 37-year-0ld Sanchez departed York with a 6.49 ERA in six starts and four relief appearances. Sanchez was on a short leash to start the season after an unimpressive 2011 campaign with York, when he went 3-2 with a 6.67 ERA in just six starts before he abruptly left York to return to his native Dominican Republic. The former big leaguer had been struggling to return to his 2010 numbers, when he posted a 3.65 ERA in 16 starts before getting picked up by the Oakland Athletics.

The Revs also released right-hander Omar Javier after he gathered a 5.67 ERA and 1-6 record in nine starts and 13 relief appearances a year after he had a 5.65 ERA in eight starts and three relief appearances for the Road Warriors.

Spot starts: A pair of pitchers made a couple of notable spot starts during the 2012 season.

James Houser was the first. The former big leaguer came to York after sitting out the entire 2011 season because of open-heart surgery to repair an enlarged aorta. He had hopes of eventually to the starting rotation, where he spent most of his pro career prior to the surgery. The most memorable moment Houser had in his time with the Revs this season came back on June 12 when he started against Southern Maryland in place of Shawn Hill. Houser lived up to the task by tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless ball, giving up four hits while striking out two and walking one. The Revs collected just enough runs and seven pitchers combined to hold the Blue Crabs to just two runs in a 3-2 victory. York later released Houser after he went 2-1 with a 5.51 ERA in two starts and 31 relief appearances. He soon joined the Camden and finished the year with a 3-0 record and 4.01 ERA in 25 relief appearances for the Riversharks.

Left-hander Wade Korpi was lights-out in his three spot starts in the regular seaso. The former Miami Marlins prospect had a stellar 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings over those three starts for York.

In the end: Right-hander Corey Thurman had another solid season. The longtime Revs’ pitcher went 14-3 with a 3.81 ERA over 27 regular season starts. He broke the club record he set in wins a year before, when he went 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 25 starts. The 14 wins tied three Lancaster pitchers for the most in the league. His 3.81 ERA ranked eighth in the league among starters. However, he did give up a team-high 20 homers while striking out 76 and walking 52 over 147.2 innings pitched.

Feierabend proved to be York’s ace. He accumulated 9-5 record and 2.71 ERA in 18 starts in the Atlantic League for the Revs. In between, he got picked up by the Reds and pitched at Class AAA Louisville before being cut and returning to York. He ranked third in the league in ERA among starters.

Left-hander Chris Cody finished the year with a 10-14 record and 4.38 ERA in 28 starts. Though inconsistent at times, Cody still did a good job at eating up innings, tossing a total of 164.1, which ranked seventh-most in the league. The former Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves prospect also had a steller strikeout-to-walk ratio, with 112 Ks to 29 walks.

Waters joined the Revs in mid-June shortly after the club released Jesus Sanchez. The former Baltimore Orioles starter came to York 15 months removed from Tommy John surgery to his throwing elbow. But the southpaw didn’t suffer the injury in typical fashion. Rather, it was caused in 2010 when Waters was at-bat while playing in a game for Nashville against Albuquerque, the Class AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. An Albuquerque pitcher drilled Waters in his throwing arm with a pitch. Anyway, Waters had a pretty good year considering his health factors. The 32-year-old posted a 6-7 ERA and 4.38 ERA over 18 starts, striking out 59 and walking 29 in 90.1 innings of work. Among his 2012 highlights, Waters threw a complete-game one-hitter at Sugar Land on Sept. 18, marking the first time he accomplished the feat since 2008 as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Overall, it was 10th complete game of his now 12-year pro career. He was one of three York pitchers to throw a complete-game nine inning shutout in 2012.

York acquired left-hander Derrick Gordon in mid-July from Sugar Land, where Gordon was 1-4 with a 6.43 ERA in eight starts and seven relief appearances. Gordon turned it around in York, going 5-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 starts.

Stay or go?: One would think Feierabend and Waters might get a minor league spring training invite with a big league club. Should that not happen, though, I’d like to see both return. Feierabend can clearly be a dominant pitcher in the Atlantic League. Waters, though inconsistent this season, should be able to improve on his 2012 numbers considering he’ll be a full two-plus years removed from Tommy John surgery at the beginning of the 2013 season. He also proved he has the veteran mindset to overcome pretty much anything considering he played the last month of the season while his younger brother recovered in a hospital from a serious motorcycle accident. In addition, both Feierabend and Waters also have the potential to get picked up by big league clubs in the near future (again, that’s the main purpose of the Atlantic League).

Thurman and Cody both win and eat up a ton of innings. Though at times it may not be pretty – the duo combined to allow 38 homers – pitchers who can find a way to win and last a long time in the process are a rare commodity in the Atlantic League. Thurman, 33, likely no longer draws the interest of big league scouts. But for reasons stated above, and the fact that he’s been great in the community and the clubhouse, he’s a perfect fit to return in 2013. Cody, 28, is just a year removed from being picked up by the Atlanta Braves in 2011. So, he has great potential to earn a big league contract if he can be more consistent in 2013.

That leaves lefty Derrick Gordon. Yes, he had a solid year – 5-3 with a 4.02 ERA over 12 starts for York – but he wouldn’t be a big loss if he doesn’t return to the Revs in 2013. Not only was Gordon inconsistent, he also didn’t go long in games – only three starts did he toss at least six innings. That can be taxing on a bullpen over a long season. Then again, Revs’ manager Mark Mason did a great job turning Gordon around after he went 1-4 with a 6.43 in 15 games at Sugar Land. Plus, Gordon is just two years removed from having a 2.63 ERA in 11 starts for the Somerset Patriots in 2011.

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James Houser had been a starter his entire career before coming to York. And for the most part, he succeeded in the role. The 27-year-old reached the majors at the end of the 2010 season with the Miami (then Florida) Marlins and earned a spring training invite the following year with the Baltimore Orioles.

Unfortunately, that’s where things took a wrong turn for the 6-foot-5 right-hander. Houser soon found out he needed open heart surgery to repair an enlarged aorta. A former second-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2003, Houser would miss the entire 2011 season to recover from surgery.

In his return back to the game, Houser assumed the role of reliever this season for York. Still, his plan all along has been to eventually build himself back up to being a starter.

The Florida native won’t get that chance with York. The Revs released the lefty on Sunday, a day after the club cut right-hander Omar Javier. Houser leaves York with a 2-1 record and 5.51 ERA in two starts and 31 relief appearances. Javier gathered a 5.67 ERA and 1-6 record in nine starts and 13 relief appearances.

Second chance: Houser might not be done pitching in the Atlantic League this season, though. Chatting in the Revs’ clubhouse Sunday night following York’s 6-2 over Lancaster, Houser said he plans to sign with the Camden Riversharks so long as he passes a physical.

When asked if he plans to start for Camden, Houser said his “plan all along is to eventually be a starter again.”

Revs’ pitching coach Mark Mason has said previously that Houser will be challenged in his return to be a starter, mainly because there are limitations on how much he can strain his heart as a result of the surgery. Mason described Sunday night how starting pitchers need to do various conditioning drills between starts to keep up the body’s endurance for starts. Some of those drills, such as running vigorously for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, might be too hard on Houser’s heart.

“My advice to him was basically go home and build yourself back up. So that way next season you’ll give yourself a chance to come in ready to be a starter,” Mason said.

Memorable moment: The most memorable moment Houser had in his time with the Revs this season came back on June 12, when he started against Southern Maryland in place of Shawn Hill. You see, it appeared as though rain would come early in that game, and Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren thought there would be a good chance the contest would be rained out. As a result, he didn’t want to throw Hill out there and have him go a few innings only to see the game delayed and later called due to rain – essentially wasting a start from Hill. So, Houser stood in. And the rain never came.

In his first start for York and first start overall since 2010, Houser lived up to the task by tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless ball, giving up four hits while striking out two and walking one. The Revs collected just enough runs and seven pitchers combined to hold the Blue Crabs to just two runs in a 3-2 victory.

Roster: The Revs’ now have 23 players on their active roster, two below the maximum allowed by the Atlantic League. York is expected to bring a relief pitcher on board later this week. Other than that, it seems like the club is comfortable with its current roster. Third baseman Ramon Castro sat out Sunday’s game due to an undisclosed illness, but he’s not expected to miss significant time. Outfielder Michael Hernandez has also been out of action the last few weeks while recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered when diving for a flyball. Still, York collected 13 hits on Sunday with both of them out of the lineup, so the Revs’ offense is stacked at this point.

The starting rotation of right-hander Corey Thurman and left-handers Chris Waters, Chris Cody, Derrick Gordon and Ryan Feierabend looks pretty good at this point, too.

Deep-tissue: All but Waters had an impressive performances in their last outings. Waters was shelled by Lancaster on Friday to the count of eight runs on nine hits in 2.1 innings. The lefty had been dealing with tightness in the left side of his neck earlier this season, but Mason said he isn’t concerned about Waters health. Rather, (and I have to admit I learned something here because I have never before heard of this playing a role) Mason cited that Waters had a deep-tissue massage to his legs hours before his start Friday. As a result, Waters didn’t have his legs under him, Mason said.

“Shawn Hill missed a start earlier this year because he got a deep-tissue massage before a game,” Mason said.

Recap: With their win Sunday, the Revs (45-42 overall, 9-8 second half) have now won three straight for the first time since winning four in a row from June 23 to June 26. Meanwhile, York handed the Barnstormers (53-33, 8-8) their first three-game losing streak since late May. York is also 9-4 in its last 13 games while Lancaster has gone 5-8 in its last 13. The Revs lead the Community Cup series 9-to-8 with a three-game set remaining in Lancaster in August. The first team to 11 wins claims the Community Cup, which has alternated cities since 2007.

York is now tied for first place in the Freedom Division second-half race with Sugar Land. York will have off Monday before hosting Bridgeport (39-47, 8-8) on Tuesday in the first game of a three-game set. York right-hander Corey Thurman (9-2, 4.20 ERA) will face lefty Dan Serafini (3-2, 3.25). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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