Minor league roundup

There are 83 former D-III players currently in affiliated baseball of which 24 are playing at the Double-A level or higher. D3baseball.com looks at the highlights around the minor leagues.

League leaders

Wartburg pitcher Brad Watson's 2.22 earned run average was fifth best of all Rookie level players. Watson was also fourth in the Gulf Coast League (Rookie) with five wins and ninth with a 1.15 walks+hits/innings pitched ratio.

Keystone third baseman Eric Groff's 85 hits were fifth best of all Rookie level players. Groff also was second in the Pioneer League (Rookie) with a .595 slugging percentage, second with 160 total bases, second with 23 doubles, fourth with 14 home runs, seventh with 48 runs batted in, eighth with a .941 on-base plus slugging percentage, eighth with 269 at-bats and ninth with five triples.

Oberlin pitcher Phil Brua's seven wins were second best of all Short Season-A players. Brua was also sixth in the Northwest League (Short Season-A) with 26 games and eighth with five saves.

Keystone first baseman Yazy Arbelo's 31 home runs were second best of all Single-A players. His 95 runs batted in were fourth best of all Single-A players. Arbelo also led the Midwest League (Single-A) with 161 strikeouts, was third with 238 total bases, third with 134 games, fourth with a .516 slugging percentage, sixth with 73 walks, sixth with an .877 on-base plus slugging percentage and 10th with 31 doubles. Arbelo was named the Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week for games May 16-22.

Grove City pitcher Erik Arnesen's 2.43 earned run average was second best of all Double-A players. His 1.10 walks+hits/innings pitched ratio was fourth best among all Double-A players. Arnesen also ranked 10th in the Eastern League (Double-A) with 122 strikeouts. Arnesen was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for games played Aug. 8-14.

Eastern Mennonite's Erik Kratz led International League (Triple-A) catchers with a .372 on-base percentage.

Alvernia catcher Anthony Recker was named to the Pacific Coast League (Triple-A) postseason all-star team.

Cal State-East Bay (then D3) outfielder Archie Gilbert was eighth in the Eastern League (Double-A) with 26 stolen bases. Gilbert was named the Eastern League Offensive Player of the Week for games played May 2-8.

Methodist's Blake Maxwell was fourth in the Eastern League (Double-A) with 35 games finished and sixth with 15 saves.

Marietta's Mike DeMark was fifth in the Southern League (Double-A) with 15 saves and 10th with 26 games finished.

Old Westbury pitcher Robert Whitenack was named the Southern League (Double-A) Pitcher of the Week for games May 16-22.

Chapman/Trinity (Texas) second baseman Ryan Cavan was fourth in the California League (High-A) with 38 doubles and eighth with 64 walks.

Chapman pitcher Kurt Yacko was third in the California League (High-A) with nine holds.

Christopher Newport pitcher Kenny Moreland was eighth in the Carolina League (High-A) with six holds.

FDU-Florham pitcher Ryan Flannery was fifth in the Florida State League (High-A) with 19 saves and sixth with 34 games finished.

St. Thomas pitcher Matt Schuld was named the Florida State League (High-A) Pitcher of the Week for games played May 9-15.

Albright pitcher Casey Lawrence led the Midwest League (Single-A) with two complete games and was sixth with 11 wins and sixth with a 1.15 walks+hits/innings pitched ratio.

Occidental pitcher Brooks Belter was eighth in the New York-Penn League (Short Season-A) with seven hit batters.

Trinity (Conn.) outfielder James Wood was fifth in the Northwest League (Short Season-A) with a .462 slugging percentage, fifth with nine home runs, sixth with 77 strikeouts, seventh with 16 doubles, eighth with 103 total bases and 10th with a .791 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Frostburg pitcher Greg Ross was second in the Appalachian League with seven wins, ninth with 62.2 innings pitched and 10th with a 3.94 earned run average.

Oneonta pitcher Dave Filak was fifth in the Appalachian League (Rookie) with 13 starts, fifth with 48 runs allowed, sixth with six losses and sixth with 72 hits allowed. 

Neumann outfielder Gary Mitchell was fifth in the Pioneer League (Rookie) with a .407 on-base percentage and ninth with 29 walks.

Keystone pitcher Victor Lara was ninth in the Pioneer League (Rookie) with 22 games.

Cornell pitcher Chris Handke was eighth in the Pioneer League with 29 walks.

Mount St. Joseph pitcher Steve Matre was sixth in the Pioneer League (Rookie) with four holds.

Thirty three players made the playoffs this year with their Minor League teams.  They are:

Rookie: Cornell P Chris Handke (Ogden), Neumann OF Gary Mitchell (Orem), Keystone 3B Eric Groff (Missoula), Keystone C Bryan Henry (Missoula), Keystone P Victor Lara (Missoula), Linfield P K.C. Wiser (AZL Rangers), Wooster SS Matt Johnson (Bluefield), St. Thomas 3B Roy Larson (Elizabethton), Oneonta P Dave Filak (Danville), Frostburg P Greg Ross (Danville).

Short Season: Oberlin P Phil Brua (Vancouver), Tyler P Logan Chitwood (Vermont Lake), Concordia-TX P Michael Johnson (Brooklyn).

Single-A: Emory 3B Frank Pfister (Dayton), Denison P Aidan Lucas (Quad Cities), Whitewater P Ben Versnik (Clinton), North Park P Mike Giovenco (Kane County), Keystone P Sean Murphy (Burlington), UW-Whitewater P Adam Dominick (Fort Wayne)

High-A: Albright P Casey Lawrence (Dunedin), Linfield 2B Kelson Brown (Bradenton), Bradford P Zach Foster (Bradenton), Trinity-TX P Evan Bronson (Potomac), Christopher Newport P Kenny Moreland (Frederick), Chapman P Kurt Yacko (Modesto), Trinity-TX/Chapman 2B Ryan Cavan (San Jose), Whittier P Tom Vessella (San Jose)

Double-A: Old Westbury P Robert Whitenack (Tennessee), Hampden-Sydney C Jason Bour (Birmingham), Hamline OF Dan Kaczrowski (Mobile), Grove City P Erik Arnesen (Harrisburg), East Bay OF Archie Gilbert (Harrisburg).

Triple-A: Marietta P Mike DeMark (Reno), Eastern Mennonite C Erik Kratz (Lehigh Valley), MCLA P Joe Bateman (Durham).

Nine players played in the majors this summer with only the Arizona Diamondbacks playoff bound.

Current Major Leaguers:
Wheaton (Mass.) outfielder Chris Denorfia, Padres
St. Joseph’s (Maine) pitcher Charlie Furbush, Mariners
Messiah outfielder Chris Heisey, Reds
Centenary pitcher Cole Kimball, Nationals
Stony Brook (then-D3) pitcher Joe Nathan, Twins
Linfield pitcher Joe Paterson, Diamondbacks
Alvernia catcher Anthony Recker, Athletics
UW-La Crosse outfielder Vinny Rottino, Marlins
UW-Stevens Point pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals