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.

Read More

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.

Read More

A former York Revolution pitcher joined another former Revs’ reliever at the New York Mets’ big league camp over the weekend.

The Mets called up lefty Justin Hampson on Sunday and used him out of the bullpen for two innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hampson, 32, didn’t fair so well, though. The southpaw gave up a run on two doubles (Ty Wigginton and Jon Jay) and a single (Matt Adams) in his appearance Sunday. He did strike out one batter (Adron Chambers).

Hampson pitched in 79 big league games, split between Colorado and San Diego, from 2006 to 2008 before coming to York in 2010. He also pitched for the Long Island Ducks that season, going a combined 1-0 with a 6.20 ERA in 15 Atlantic League games.

Hampson made it back to the big leagues last season, compiling a 1.80 ERA in 13 relief appearances for the Mets.

Hampson opted for free agency after the season but soon found himself back with the Mets on a minor league deal for 2013.

He joins former Revs’ pitcher Scott in the Mets’ big league camp. Rice, a 6-foot, 6-inch lefty, is currently batting for a spot in the Mets’ bullpen. So far, he has a 3.72 ERA in nine spring training appearances. He has held opponents scoreless in seven of those and hitless in five of those. He has given up just one walk in his last two appearances, improving his ERA by nearly a full point.

Rice, 31, went 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 appearances for the Revs in 2011 before getting picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers and assigned to Class AA Chattanooga. A former first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 1999, Rice is still aiming for his big league debut.
With the Mets’ 2013 Opening Day a week away, we should find out in the coming days if Rice or Hampson will start the season in the big leagues.

Read More

Somehow I missed this last month, but former Revs’ pitcher Andy Wells was signed by the New York Mets in February to a minor league contract. So, too, was former Revs pitcher Justin Hampson, who pitched for the Mets last season.

Only diehard Revs’ fans might remember Wells. York brought him on board in the final week of May last season. The Revs were in need of some pitching depth at that point after reliever Ian Thomas got picked up by the Atlanta Braves and relievers Ricardo Gomez and Shaun Garceau were still recovering from injuries. At the time, York was preparing to play a stretch of 15 games over the next two weeks.

Wells, 24, came over to York after splitting time between four independent ball clubs in his first two pro seasons, accumulating an 8.68 ERA. In five collegiate seasons split between Siena College and Wagner College, Wells had a 6.88 ERA.

Wells, a New York native, made just three relief appearances for the Revs, 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.

The 6-foot, 2-inch right-hander joins a list of six other ball players who played for York in 2012 and is in spring training camp with a big league or affiliated minor league club. That list includes slugger Chris Nowak (Diamondbacks) outfielder Mike Hernandez (Tigers) and pitchers Victor Garate (Dodgers), Mike Benacka (Blue Jays), Ryan Feierabend (Rangers) and Shawn Hill (Tigers).

As for the Mets, they now have three former Revs under contract (Including lefty reliever Scott Rice, who is at big league camp).  It’s just all kind of surprising considering New York didn’t pick up one player out of the Atlantic League during the 2012 season.

Read More

Just a few days removed from finding out slugger Chris Nowak signed a deal with Mexico City, the York Revolution learned Monday that closer R.J. Rodriguez is now heading south.

The right-hander has signed a deal with the Campeche Pirates. While the move doesn’t help the Revs one bit, Rodriguez’s departure at this time of year doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The last couple of years he has left York mid-season only to return later in the year after the Mexican League wraps up its season sometime in August. So, it’s likely we’ll be seeing Rodriguez again in the near future. Rodriguez will join quite a few former Atlantic League players in Campeche, including slugger Jason Botts (the two were teammates last year in York), Wes Bankston and Brian Barton.

Rodriguez leaves with an 0-2 record and 2.36 ERA with 11 saves in 27 appearances. He struck out 26 and walked 14 in 26.2 innings of work. He held opponents to no earned runs in 22 of his 27 appearances. But he only had 1-2-3 ninth innings (no walks or hits allowed) in just eight of his appearances.

What it means for York: Luckily for the Revs, they have a more than adequate replacement for Rodriguez in Adam Thomas. The right-hander has served as team’s set-up man to this point in the season, so he should be able to transition into the closer role smoothly. Among York relievers with at least 10 appearances this season, Thomas is third on the team in ERA (3.45), earned runs allowed (11), innings pitched (28 2/3) and hits allowed (26). He’s second on the team in strikeouts (18) and fourth in walks (eight). He has also held opponents to no earned runs in 21 of 28 appearances.

With Nowak and Rodriguez leaving the club in recent days, York now has 23 players on the active roster, which is two below the league maximum. The front office is likely busy looking for some players to patch in the holes, so expect some moves to come sooner rather later.

All-Star nods: In case you haven’t checked it out yet, I disclosed my choices of York Revolution players who I believe should be given a roster spot in the 2012 Atlantic League All-Star game that is coming up on July 11 at Camden’s Campbell’s Field. To read more on that, click here.

Getting the call: The Revs announced Monday that for the second time in franchise history, a former York player has reached the Major Leagues. Monday morning, left-handed reliever Justin Hampson was promoted from Class AAA Buffalo Bisons to the New York Mets, one of a few roster moves resulting from Mets closer Frank Francisco landing on the 15-day disabled list with an oblique strain. Hampson was a member of the 2010 Atlantic League champion Revs, appearing in 11 games out of the bullpen. The following season he joined the Mets organization, pitching all of 2011 in Buffalo, posting a 3.41 ERA in 52 games and 58 innings of relief. To read more on the historic achievement, click here.

Read More