Houston Summers was the knuckleball pitcher that was with the Silver Hawks for just a few games in 2009. He was released by the Diamondbacks this offseason, but signed with the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday. Maybe we'll see him again this year, pitching with the Quad Cities River Bandits.
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Houston Summers is a 22-year-old right-hander who was taken in the 47th round of the 2005 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He had appeared primarily as a catcher, but also as second baseman, third baseman and in the outfield before becoming a full-time knuckleball pitcher three seasons ago.
Pitching since 2007, Summers has appeared in just two games above the A level. He was primarily a starter the first two years before pitching in relief last season. Overall, he has a 9-10 record with a 4.22 ERA in 45 games including 17 starts. Summers has 78 strikeouts and 96 walks in 162 career innings.
Showing posts with label Houston Summers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston Summers. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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)
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)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
'09 Alumni Report
Thought we'd take a quick look at what guys that played here in South Bend this season are doing at other levels:
Double-A Mobile:
Chris Davis has not yet played for the BayBears
High-A Visalia:
Brendan Duffy hitting .280, o HR, 4 RBI, 5 SB, 2 doubles, 1 triple
Trevor Harden is 1-7 with a 4.26 ERA in 11 starts. 61.1 IP, 84 H, 34 K's, 12 BB's
Short-Season A Yakima
Rafael Quezada is 0-3 with a 9.13 ERA in 6 starts. 22.2 IP, 36 H, 11 K's, 19 BB's
Houston Summers is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 5 relief appearances. 12.0 IP, 12 H, 2 K's, 4 BB's
Brad Wilson is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 6 relief appearances. 9.o IP, 5 H, 13 K's, 1 BB
Rookie Missoula
Keny Sosa is 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 4 starts. 21.1 IP, 26 H, 15 K's, 6 BB's
Double-A Mobile:
Chris Davis has not yet played for the BayBears
High-A Visalia:
Brendan Duffy hitting .280, o HR, 4 RBI, 5 SB, 2 doubles, 1 triple
Trevor Harden is 1-7 with a 4.26 ERA in 11 starts. 61.1 IP, 84 H, 34 K's, 12 BB's
Short-Season A Yakima
Rafael Quezada is 0-3 with a 9.13 ERA in 6 starts. 22.2 IP, 36 H, 11 K's, 19 BB's
Houston Summers is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 5 relief appearances. 12.0 IP, 12 H, 2 K's, 4 BB's
Brad Wilson is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 6 relief appearances. 9.o IP, 5 H, 13 K's, 1 BB
Rookie Missoula
Keny Sosa is 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 4 starts. 21.1 IP, 26 H, 15 K's, 6 BB's
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Today's Roster Move
Activated from DL: Ryan Cook, Bryan Woodall
Reassigned to Extended Spring Training: Houston Summers, Victor Capellan
Full story at www.silverhawks.com under the latest news column on the right side of the page.
Now it's decision time. Which of the following players moves out of the rotation so that Cook goes in?
Miley
Moorhouse
Sinclair
Morgan
Rodriguez
I would think Miley and Moorhouse are safe in the rotation. Sinclair's pitched so well it would be hard to take him out (although he is the guy that moved in when Cook got hurt, so perhaps he's moved back to the pen). Morgan's pitched better as of late in the starting role after struggling in his first few outings. Rodriguez just joined the team a few weeks ago, and has only made three starts, so it's tough to get a read on him.
I think this will be an interesting decision, but a good one to have. It's always nice to have six qualified candidates for five spots in the rotation.
Reassigned to Extended Spring Training: Houston Summers, Victor Capellan
Full story at www.silverhawks.com under the latest news column on the right side of the page.
Now it's decision time. Which of the following players moves out of the rotation so that Cook goes in?
Miley
Moorhouse
Sinclair
Morgan
Rodriguez
I would think Miley and Moorhouse are safe in the rotation. Sinclair's pitched so well it would be hard to take him out (although he is the guy that moved in when Cook got hurt, so perhaps he's moved back to the pen). Morgan's pitched better as of late in the starting role after struggling in his first few outings. Rodriguez just joined the team a few weeks ago, and has only made three starts, so it's tough to get a read on him.
I think this will be an interesting decision, but a good one to have. It's always nice to have six qualified candidates for five spots in the rotation.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Today's Roster Move
RHP Ryan Cook has been placed on the 7-Day DL with a blister on his pitching hand.
RHP Houston Summers joins the Silver Hawks from extended spring training.
My analysis: Losing Cook for any amount of time hurts, as his five wins is tied for second in the league. However, I speculated on the air last night that there was likely some issue for him to get pulled after just 3.0 innings. While a blister is an annoyance to the pitcher and get really have a tremendous impact, you have to be happy that it's nothing more serious than that.
Summers is a knuckleball pitcher who was originally drafted as a catcher, and converted to pitcher prior to the 2008 season. Knuckleball guys are always interesting, in that when they're on, they're great, and when they're not, they struggle mightily. I have not heard whether Summers will start or go into the bullpen as of yet.
RHP Houston Summers joins the Silver Hawks from extended spring training.
My analysis: Losing Cook for any amount of time hurts, as his five wins is tied for second in the league. However, I speculated on the air last night that there was likely some issue for him to get pulled after just 3.0 innings. While a blister is an annoyance to the pitcher and get really have a tremendous impact, you have to be happy that it's nothing more serious than that.
Summers is a knuckleball pitcher who was originally drafted as a catcher, and converted to pitcher prior to the 2008 season. Knuckleball guys are always interesting, in that when they're on, they're great, and when they're not, they struggle mightily. I have not heard whether Summers will start or go into the bullpen as of yet.
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