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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Former York Revolution starting pitcher Ryan Feierabend earned a call-up from the Texas Rangers’ Class AA Frisco affiliate to Class AAA Round Rock on Wednesday. The promotion comes after the former big leaguer posted a 1-2 record and 3.86 ERA in five starts at Frisco. The left-hander struck out 22 and walked five in 28 innings of work.

The call-up is one of a few moves made by Round Rock on Monday. Along with Feierabend, right-hander Jake Brigham and infielder Alex Buchholz also got promoted to Round Rock. The moves come as a result of Round Rock outfielder Joey Butler and starting pitcher Collin Balester being placed on the seven-day disabled list and the retirement of right-handed starter Randy Wells, according to this report.

Feierabend, 27, is still on a quest to make it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2008. 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.

The former big leaguer made eight starts for the Seattle Mariners in the second half of the 2008 season but missed all of the 2009 season because of Tommy John surgery. In his comeback from surgery in 2010, Feierabend went 4-7 with a 5.30 ERA in 17 starts for the Mariners’ Class AAA Tacoma team. In 2011, Feierabend went 10-8 with a 5.39 ERA for the Phillies’ Class AAA Lehigh Valley team.

For more on Feierabend, here’s a brief story on him with quotes when he returned to York late last season.

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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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It’s that time of year when major league and affiliated minor league baseball spring training camps are in full swing. Among the names of many former Revolution players part of those camps is left-hander Scott Rice.

A recent article from the New York Post notes that Rice has a shot at being a lefty option for the New York Mets’ bullpen. The Mets had signed Rice back in November after the 6-foot, 7-inch reliever posted a 4.40 ERA in 54 appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Class AAA Albuquerque affiliate.

Rice, 31, is trying to reach the majors for the first time in his career as he enters his 15th pro season. The California native is just two years removed from pitching for the York Revolution. A former first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 1999, Rice went 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 appearances for York in 2011 before the Dodgers picked him up that season.

Feierabend: Former Revs’ starting pitcher Ryan Feierabend hasn’t gotten off to a good start in spring training, either. In his only relief appearance for the Texas Rangers against the Chicago White on Feb. 26, Feierabend allowed one earned run on two hits with no strikeouts and a walk in one inning of work.

Feierabend, 27, is trying to make it back to the majors for the first time since 2009. The right-hander went 8-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 17 starts for the Revs last season. That includes the 12 starts Feierabend had for York after he returned from pitching for Class AAA Louisville in the middle of the season.

 Hill: Former Revs’ starting pitcher Shawn Hill isn’t in camp with the Detroit Tigers right now because he’s busy getting in fights with Team Canada against Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. OK, Hill wasn’t one of the guys going fisticuffs with Mexico Saturday night, but he was at least trying to help calm his teammates. I’d try to tell you exactly where to look at certain times in the ESPN highlight, but of course I’m having trouble getting a freeze frame.

Anyway, Canada lost to Team USA, 9-4, on Sunday to be knocked out of the tournament. So Hill will likely be returning to Tigers’ spring training shortly. In his time with Team Canada, Hill took the loss in a start against Italy on _, allowing two earned runs on two hits and one walk in 2.2 innings. That game featured plenty of former Atlantic Leaguers, writes YDR’s Jim Seip on his Revs’ Inside Pitch blog.

Skeeters to get competition?: Dallas Morning News reporter Gerry Fraley had a recent blog post saying “Astros owner Jim Crane told reporters the club is considering a plan to put its Triple-A affiliate in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands.” The Astros’ top minor-league club currently is in Oklahoma City. Fraley noted that Crane said one reason for moving the club would be to counter the Texas Rangers’ growing presence throughout the state of Texas.

The Sugar Land Skeeters already compete with the Houston Astros’ big league in their current location. Of course we all know the Skeeters made out pretty well in attendance last year. But I’ll always remain curious to see how they’ll do in attendance once the Astros start winning (and once the novelty of the Skeeters wears off). Who knows what would happen if Houston brought its’ top minor league affiliate nearby?

Skeeters sign four: While we’re on the topic of Sugar Land, the Skeeters announced their second batch of signings for the 2013 roster recently. They signed right-hander Michael Nix (former Revs’ reliever) and Gary Majewski along with reliever Jared Wells and starting pitcher Derek Blacksher. Sugar Land now has eight players under contract for the upcoming season – two infielders and six pitchers.

Signings: Lancaster also announced a pair of signings recently in former Florida Marlins’ reliever Jay Buente, 29, and former Frontier League reliever Jhonny Montoya, 26. Last week the Long Island Ducks signed former big leaguer Josh Barfield.

The Somerset Patriots were busy last week with the signings of former big leaguer Jake Fox and the re-signings of catcher Adam Donachie and infielder Dan Hennigan. Check out Patriots’ beat writer Ryan Dunleavy’s Somerset blog for more info on the signings.

Feeder system?: Speaking of Dunleavy’s blog, his most recent entry has a statement from the Patriots recently released in response to several “published reports that an Atlantic League feeder system – Atlantic League 2 – is in the works and that Skylands Park in Sussex County could soon be home to a franchise with ties to the independent Atlantic League. Click here to read the response.

Coaches hired: Southern Maryland Blue Crabs’ manager Patrick Osborn announced last week that former longtime Crabs’ pitcher Joe Gannon is the team’s new pitching coach. The Bridgeport Bluefish also named a new pitching coach. Pat Ahearne will take over those duties in Bridgeport after spending the last four years after serving as the pitching coach for the Czech National Baseball Team.

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Finally getting a night to catch up on Atlantic League/Revolution news, I used Tuesday to chat with former Revs’ players Keoni De Renne and Vince Harrison on their plans for 2013. I also took the time to compile several newsworthy items and tidbits (below) related to the Revs/Atlantic League that have come out in the last couple days.

—I chatted with former Revs’ players Keoni De Renne and Vince Harrison on Tuesday night about their plans for the 2013 season after both coached in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system last year. For the first in his career, De Renne will be assuming a managerial role in 2013. The Hawaii native is set to manage one of the Pirates’ two farm teams in summer league in the Dominican Republic. Harrison cut ties with the Pirates following last season. He is living in Cincinnati and is working on starting up an indoor baseball/softball facility with his younger brother, Josh, who will likely be the starting third baseman for the Pirates big league club in 2013.

—Tickets on sale: The Revs announced Tuesday that individual game tickets for the 2013 season will go on sale Feb. 9. Tickets will be able to be purchased online at www.yorkrevolution.com and in-person at the ticket office at Sovereign Bank Stadium. Full-season tickets and partial season tickets are currently on sale.

—Open tryout: York will host its annual open tryout for the 2013 season April 5 at Sovereign Bank Stadium. The cost to attend the tryout is $40. Players must be at least 18 years of age to tryout. For more information, visit the Revs’ website or contact baseball operations manager Andrew Ball at aball@yorkrevolution.com.

—Partnership: The Atlantic League announced Tuesday a partnership with national sports marketing and public relations agency Maroon PR. The partnership will include working together on a variety of expansion and branding plans as the league aims to expand from eight to 12 teams in the near future. According to a press release, Maroon PR president and founder John Maroon began his career working in Major League Baseball’s American League office in 1987, then going on to serve as Director of Media Relations for the Cleveland Indians, Director of Public Relations for the Baltimore Orioles, and Vice President of Communications for Ripken Baseball. After founding Maroon PR in April 2006, Ripken Baseball became its first client, and has continued working with the firm since.

—Rangers sign Feierabend: Thanks to Revs’ media guru Paul Braverman for tracking this one down…Former York Revolution starting pitcher Ryan Feierabend has earned a minor league spring training invite with the Texas Rangers, according to a report last week from The Dallas Morning News.

Last season, Feierabend began the season with the Revs before getting picked up by the Cincinnati Reds and assigned to Class AAA Louisville, where he went 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in seven starts. The left-hander returned to York on July 26. For the season, Feierabend made 18 starts for the Revs, going 9-5 and setting a new club record ERA (2.70) in 113 innings.

Feierabend, an Ohio native, has 25 major league appearances under his belt from 2006 to 2008 with the Seattle Mariners. The Rangers will mark the fourth big league organization Feierabend has spent time in his tenth year as a pro.

 

 

—Ducks announce signings: The Long Island Ducks won last year’s Atlantic League championship. So, it’s only fitting that they’re the first club to announce signings for the 2013 season. Long Island announced Tuesday they are bringing back longtime Ducks’ infielder Ray Navarrete and outfield Joash Brodin. (For those wondering, I’m still not sure yet when I’ll begin publishing the weekly Atlantic League news, transactions post. It will likely begin sometime soon, but I’m thinking of doing it once signings really begin ratcheting up, which should be fairly soon.)

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After playing for the Revs in 2012, starting pitcher Ryan Feierabend and infielders Chris Nowak, Joe Thurston and Johan Limonta are currently playing winter ball in the eight-team Venezuela League.

Feierabend, Thurston and Limonta are teammates with the Lara Cardinals. Thurston is manning the outfield and batting .197 through 15 games while Limonta holds a .353 average in seven games. Feierabend has posted 2.12 ERA through three starts.

The trio is on a team that is trickled with current or former major league talent. The roster includes, among others, Chicago Cubs’ infielder Luis Valbuena, Chicago White Sox infielder Jose Lopez, Kansas City Royals’ short stop Alcides Escobar, Atlanta Braves reliever Luis Avilan and former longtime big league infielders Cezar Izturis and Tomas Perez. Somerset Patriots’ pitcher Justin Cassel, brother of Chiefs’ quarterback Matt, is also playing for Lara, as is Southern Maryland Blue Crabs’ pitcher Nick Green.

Nowak is hitting .263 with two homers in 11 games for Magellan’s Navigators (these team names are awesome, aren’t they?). Nowak is teammteas with some talented players as well, including Washington Nationals’ catcher Jesus Flores and former Lancaster Barnstormers’ infielder Jesus Merchan as well as former big league pitcher Gustavo Chacin, former big league outfielder Brandon Boggs and former New York Yankees’ catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Revs’ player-coach and Venezuela native Liu Rodriguez is also a bench coach for a team in the league.

Another member of the 2012 Revs’ squad, reliever R.J. Rodriguez, is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 11 appearances for the Guasave Cotton Growers (awesome name), of the winter Pacific Mexican League, where he is teammates with Lancaster Barnstormers’ reliever Beau Vaughan and Somerset Patriots’ utility man Freddy Sandoval.

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