Ugh...Releases

I hate this time of year, because every once in a while I get an email from the parent club (in this case, the Diamondbacks) announcing the release of minor league players.

The first wave of releases hit my email inbox roughly 10 minutes ago, and it always leaves you with a horrible feeling inside. I'll try to seperate my emotions from these posts and think of it from the baseball side, but it's hard when you become friends with these guys over the course of the season.

With that said, here is who was released today:

Brendan Duffy -- Probably the most surprising name on the list in my opinion. I thought Brendan was a tremendous ballplayer whose game (slap hits and speed) plays at every level. That being said, Duffy was a 41st round pick and was "old" for the level he was at this year since he is already 24, and I'm guessing the Diamondbacks decided that he wasn't in their future plans so they should make way for younger guys.

Nelson Gomez -- Nelson might have been the biggest disappointment on the Silver Hawks this season, if only because he led Missoula in home runs and RBIs in 2008. The power numbers were never quite there this season, and he had trouble keeping his starting job. An up and down season for a 23-year old first baseman that wasn't showing a lot of power is a bad combination. Arizona has apparently decided they have better options at the corners with Parker, Wheeler, Conner, and a few others coming up through the ranks.

Jordan Meaker -- Meaker is another player who had a great 2008 and struggled in 2009. After posting a 1.47 ERA with Yakima in 2008, Jordan came back with a 5.67 ERA this season. I thought Jordan showed great growth towards the end of the year, but it wasn't enough apparently. I know I said I'd keep emotion out of it, but I'll say this for Jordan: He was arguably the nicest guy on the team, and I have no doubt that if he doesn't latch on with another team, that he will be successful in whatever field he chooses to go into. He was just a tremendous person to talk to and be around.

Houston Summers -- Houston was the knuckleball reliever that joined the staff for a few games in the middle of the season. He was converted from a position player to a pitcher after a year in the system, and just never quite found the right role. He spent a lot of time bouncing between extended spring training, Missoula, and Yakima. Houston also has the achievement of winning the first ever MiLB.com Moniker Madness tournament.

In addition to those four that played with the Silver Hawks in 2009, the following players were also released from the Diamondbacks organization:

Ariel Brea
Ben Dollar
Astolfo Inciarte
Pedro Rodriguez
Clayton Suss
Greg Thomson (played with South Bend in 2006)