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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Perhaps the biggest name next to Roger Clemens to come to the Atlantic League, slugger Vladimir Guerrero will be bringing his talents to Long Island this season.

Guerrero, 38, has signed with the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks, according to a report Thursday night from Foxsports.com reporter Ken Rosenthal.The Ducks’ Twitter account confirmed the news Thursday night.

The Ducks had yet to announce the signing Thursday night and message left on the cell phone of Ducks’ manager Kevin Baez was not returned.

While York Revolution manager Mark Mason is happy about the news, he said the Revs might have just missed out on signing Guerrero after having discussions with him most of this off-season.

“We were basically trying to tell him a better opportunity afforded him here to get back to the big leagues,” Mason said. “As of yesterday the way it was left was that he would think about it and maybe give us an answer early next week and see what went on from there.

“I’m happy that he’s in the league. I think it’s great that he’s in the league. Am I disappointed that he didn’t sign with us? Obviously. He’s a borderline Hall of Famer.”

Guerrero, 38, last played in the big leagues in 2011 as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Mostly a designated hitter, he batted .290 that season for the Orioles, with 13 homers and 63 RBIs in 145 games. Guerrero is a career .318 hitter in 2,147 games in the majors, with 449 homers, 1,496 RBIs, 1,328 runs scored and 2,590 hits.

The Dominican Republic native played in just 12 total games last season split between the Toronto Blue Jays’ Class High A Dunedin and Class AAA Las Vegas clubs. This season, Guerrero was deciding between coming to the Atlantic League or going to the independent Can-Am League to play with the Quebec Capitals.

In a string of tweets from Rosenthal late Thursday night, Guerrero released the following statement on signing with Long Island:

“I loved playing in Canada and really wanted to play for Quebec and old friend Michel Laplante. I grew up with the Montreal Expos and played there for almost 10 years. The fans there are my friends. However, my ultimate goal is to make it back to the majors and reach 500 homers as soon as possible Quebec’s season starts about a month later than Long Island. I own a home on Long Island and am also very comfortable there. I am very grateful and excited for the opportunity.”

Revs’ third-base coach Enohel Polanco, formerly a resident of the Dominican Republic, had been working the phones from his New Jersey home over the off-season.

“Polo talked to him (Guerrero) for awhile (Wednesday) basically telling him that we would give him all the lee-way he wanted,” Mason said. “Three weeks ago he said he was gonna go to Quebec and play. A part of it was he had signed his first pro contract in Canada with Montreal.”

Mason said he would’ve given Guerrero the chance to go Quebec if he didn’t enjoy playing for York.

“I would give him an opportunity to come here, go through spring training and see what the league was about,” Mason said. “If he liked it, great. If it’s something he didn’t like to do and wanted to go to the Can-Am League, I would release him or send him up there in a trade.”

This isn’t the first time the Revs have had discussions with Guerrero, either.

“Originally we tried to talk to Vladimir about coming down here last season before he went to Toronto,” Revs’ baseball operations manager Andrew Ball said. “Polo knows Vlad’s brother. He also knows a guy who owns the facility where Vlad works out at. He’s been talking to the two of them. I know at least this past weekend he talked directly to Vladimir himself.

“I’m not surprised he signed with Long Island but I’m surprised he signed now because Polo just talked to him the other day and had no indication that he was going to sign anytime soon.”

Mason said the move makes sense.

“I just think maybe with the condition with the Yankees are in right now, playing in Long Island, it’s a little bit closer to New York,” Mason said. “If he can put up numbers right away he has a good shot at getting signed quickly.”

Mason said he was going to give Guerrero a chance to play left field in addition to being a designated hitter.

“I was gonna give him an opportunity to play in the field at least a couple times to show he can play out there, which would get interest from National League teams and not just the American League.”

Despite losing out on Guerrero, the Revs’ outfield is already stacked with former big leaguers Jeff Fiorentino, Tyler Graham and Jason Repko.

Plus, York fans might get a chance to see Guerrero play if he’s still a member of the Ducks when Long Island visits York for a three-game weekend series May 3-5.

“I’m happy that he’s in the league,” Mason said of Guerrero. “Would I like to have had him? Yes. It’s good for the league to have guys like him in here.”

From Polo: I caught with with Polanco by phone on Friday afternoon to get his take on the Guerrero discussions. Polo said he last talked to Guerrero on Wednesday.

“He said his agent was working on something,” Polanco said. “And then we just found out he signed with Long Island. He told me he had a home on Long Island. He thinks maybe because of the location of Long Island, it’s close to the Yankees and the Mets.”

Polanco said Guerrero is a nice, humble guy not wanting to make much noise. That makes sense considering how much Guerrero thought about going back to play in Canada, where he has spent most of his career.

“He’s a nice guy. He’s just glad to play the game,” Polanco said. “He’s not one on making noise. He doesn’t like to talk.”

Alumni updates: Former Revs’ pitchers Scott Rice and Shawn Hill had impressive outings Thursday night. In his first start for Class AAA Toledo, Hill went seven innings and allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks. He gave up two home runs. Toledo lost to Louisville, 4-3.

In his second appearance for the New York Mets, Scott Rice pitched two-thirds of inning out of the bullpen, allowing two hits. The Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 2-1. Speaking of Rice, the left-hander was on the MLB Network’s “Intentional Talk” on Tuesday. Click here to check out the York Revolution’s blog post about it, which includes the six-minute clip of Rice on the show.

DeMark: Former Revs reliever Mike DeMark, released by the Diadmondbacks last month, said in a text message Wednesday he is now in the minors of the Oakland Athletics’ organization.

Kazmir on DL: Former Sugar Land Skeeters’ pitcher Scott Kazmir will indeed miss his first scheduled start with the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. The Indians put the left-hander on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with what is being described as a right rib cage strain. The setback delays Kazmir’s return to the majors, where he last pitched in 2011 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

Tryouts: The York Revolution are set to hold open tryouts this Friday at Sovereign Bank Stadium. We already know one of the players scheduled to participate is 53-year-old Tony Phillips, an 18-year major league veteran who made his pro debut in 1978. Click here to read the full story from Revs’ media guru Paul Braverman on the Revolution’s blog.

Mason said Thursday night former Revs’ reliever Andy Wells might also participate. Wells, 24, is a free agent after being released by the Mets recently. 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.

Ball said Thursday night Northern York High School graduate Nate Eppley could show up, too. Eppley is a 24-year-old right-handed reliever. A 29th-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2011, Eppley was released by the A’s last month. In 2012, the righty went 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 14 appearances at Class Low A Vermont and 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in seven games at Class A Burlington. If Nate’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because his older brother, Cody, also a Northern York grad, is a New York Yankees’ pitcher.

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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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Former York Revolution pitcher Shawn Hill had another good spring training performance for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves. Starting opposite Tim Hudson, Hill allowed just two runs on six hits in five innings of work, striking out three and walking none.

In his third and final start of the spring, and sixth appearance overall, Hill improved his spring training ERA from 5.00 to 4.50. The Atlanta Braves eventually won the game, 6-5.

In Hill’s previous start March 16 for the Tigers, he tossed four scoreless innings and allowed just one hit and one walk. Despite his good outings recently, Hill will start the 2013 season in the minors for the Tigers, according to Tuesday’s game story from MLive Media Group Tigers’ reporter James Schmehl:

He was assigned to minor-league camp upon his exit after the fifth inning.

“If he can do what he’s shown me this spring and Alvarez can do what he’s show me this spring, maybe we do have a little more depth than what we thought,” manager Jim Leyland said.

Hill struggled in his first two appearances, but was lights out his final three starts, allowing three earned runs in his last 11 2/3 innings pitched.

The Tigers signed Hill to a minor-league contract in October, which included an invitation to spring training and shot to crack the team’s rotation or earn a shot in the bullpen.

He missed out on both, but could help out the Tigers down the road as an injury replacement. For now, he will open the season in Triple-A Toledo’s rotation.

Background: Hill, if you remember, came to York in 2012 shortly after undergoing vascular surgery last February to remove a rib under his right clavicle. For years he had been bothered by the problem, even undergoing Tommy John surgery to fix the pain and missing all of the 2011 season. It turned out his throwing arm wasn’t getting proper blood circulation, which the February surgery fixed.

Hill, who pitched for his home country of Canada in this year’s World Baseball Classic, started off the 2012 season 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, the 6-foot, 2-inch right-hander threw three scoreless innings, not allowing a hit and walking two. By picking up the win in the process, Hill became the first pitcher to return to the majors and earn a win after playing for the Revs.

O’s send Ford down to minors: The Baltimore Orioles sent outfielder Lew Ford, a former Long Island Duck, down to the minors on Tuesday. Ford played in 19 games for the Ducks last season, batting .333 with four homers and 14 RBIs, before getting picked up by the O’s and assigned to Class AAA Norfolk, where he hit .331 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 62 games. He earned a call-up to the big leagues with the O’s late last season and wound up sticking around for 25 games, batting .183 with with three homers and four RBIs. Ford, 36, batted .405 with two homers and six RBIs in 28 spring training games for the O’s.

Hendrickson: Speaking of the Orioles, it sounds like reliever Mark Hendrickson, a York resident, could start the year at Class AA Bowie, according to the Baltimore Sun. Hendrickson last pitched in the majors in 2011, when he went 1-0 with a 5.73 ERA in eight games for the Orioles. He spent 2012 pitching for York Township in the Susquehanna League. The Orioles signed Hendrickson over the off-season to a minor league deal with an invite to big league spring training. Testing out a new side-arm delivery this spring, Hendrickson has compiled a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings of work (six games) for the Orioles.

Clemens returns to Skeeters: No. Not that Clemens. Rather, the son of Roger Clemens, Koby, is returning to play for Sugar Land in 2013, the club announced Tuesday. Koby Clemens, 26, joined Sugar Land in September 2012 following his release from the Toronto Blue Jays organization, where he hit .246 in 64 combined games split between Class High A Dunedin and Class AA New Hampshire. He played in one game for the Skeeters when he caught his father during the seven-time Cy Young Award winner’s second start with the Skeeters at Constellation Field. Koby went 1-for-4 in that game, his lone hit being a double.

Signings: The Lancaster Barnstormers and Bridgeport Bluefish also announced signings Tuesday. The Barnstormers added relievers Jason Urquidez and Eric Wordekemper and starting pitcher Will Savage along with catcher Petey Paramore. The Bluefish welcomed back former major leaguer Prentice Redman.

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Not exactly York Revolution related, I know. But it’s worth note. Former Sugar Land Skeeters’ pitcher Scott Kazmir learned Monday that he’ll be the Cleveland Indians’ No. 5 starter to begin the 2013 season.

He earned the job by compiling a 1-0 record and 3.46 ERA in four games (two starts) in spring training. His first scheduled start this season is slated for April 6 at Tampa Bay, which is only fitting considering he spent the majority of his first six big league seasons with the Rays.

It will mark Kazmir’s return to the majors for the first time since 2011, when he was a member of the Anaheim Angels.

In 13 starts for Sugar Land in 2012, the 6-foot, 1-inch left-hander went 3-6 with a 5.46 ERA. Kazmir becomes Sugar Land’s first player who suited up in a Skeeters uniform to make it back to the big leagues.

Skeeters: Speaking of former Skeeters players, reliever Jason Lane got called up to the Minnesota Twins big league camp on Monday and made an appearance out of the bullpen. The 6-foot-2 lefty got tagged with a blown save by allowing three runs on five hits in one inning of relief in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Last season with the Skeeters, Lane went 9-5 with a 3.17 ERA in 17 starts and one relief appearance while also batting .270 in 75 games as an outfielder.

Another former Skeeters lefty, Will Startup, got called up to big league spring training Sunday with the Detroit Tigers, according to reporter James Schmehl. However, the move is not listed on the MLB.com transactions page and it does not appear Startup has seen any action for the Tigers. Startup, 28, went 3-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 30 games for the Skeeters last year.  He is still aiming for his big league debut.

Hill: According to Schmehl, former Revolution starter Shawn Hill might get the start for the Tigers on Tuesday. Hill, who pitched for Canada in the World Baseball Classic, is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA in four games (two starts) in spring training. In his last outing, the right-hander tossed four scoreless innings against the Cardinals on March 16, striking out three and walking one and allowing one hit.

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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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