Former Hawks and Midwest Leaguers in All-Star Game

My thanks to Ryan Foutty for putting together the following report:

Three Former Hawks Among Midwest League Alums in MLB All-Star Game

Justin Upton, Miguel Montero & Jose Valverde to Play in 2011 Mid-summer Classic

South Bend, IN – Former South Bend Silver Hawks Justin Upton, Miguel Montero, and Jose Valverde will play in the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game hosted by the South Bend parent club Arizona Diamondbacks.  Twenty-four other former Midwest League players join Upton, Montero and Valverde in this year’s mid-summer classic.

Upton will represent the Arizona Diamondbacks as a reserve for the National League team.  The outfielder played for the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2006, his first season in professional baseball. The former number one overall pick has posted a .297 batting average with 15 homers, 46 RBI’s, 23 doubles, and 14 stolen bases in his fifth Major League season.  Upton was a National League All-Star in 2009. 

Montero will also represent Arizona as a National League reserve.  The catcher spent the 2004 season with South Bend.  Montero is batting .272  with 10 home runs, 45 RBI’s, and 22 doubles for the Diamondbacks in 2011.  The former Silver Hawk was named to the NL All-Star team as a replacement for the injured Placido Polanco.

Valverde earns his second straight All-Star Selection and third overall.  The closer, in his second season with the Detroit Tigers, pitched for the Silver Hawks in 1999 and 2000.  In 2011, Valverde is a perfect 23 for 23 in save opportunities, having appeared in 41 total games.  The righty has a 2-3 record with a 2.77 ERA for the Tigers.  Valverde was a National League All-Star in his final season with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007. 

The former Hawks are just three of twenty-seven former Midwest League players selected to play in the 2011 MLB All-Star Game.  Pitcher Tyler Clippard (Washington Nationals) was a member of the Battle Creek Yankees in 2004.  Former Beloit Snappers and current Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and second baseman Rickie Weeks will both play for the National League team.  Fielder spent time with Beloit in 2002 and 2003, while Weeks played for the Snappers in 2003.  Former Cedar Rapids Kernels second baseman Howie Kendrick and pitcher Jordan Walden will represent the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on the AL squad. Kendrick played for Cedar Rapids in 2004, while Walden played for the Kernels in 2008.  The Dayton Dragons have two former players on the NL team: Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto played for Dayton in 2003 and 2004, while Reds outfielder Jay Bruce spent 2006 with the Dragons.  Minnesota Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer was a member of the 1998 Fort Wayne Wizards, now known as the TinCaps. 

Meanwhile, the Kane County Cougars have four former players in the All-Star Game: pitcher Josh Beckett (Boston Red Sox) played in 2000, first basemen Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers) and Adrian Gonzalez (Boston Red Sox) in 2001, and outfielder Andre Eithier (Los Angeles Dodgers) in 2003.  Former Great Lakes Loons pitcher Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) play for the National League squad.  Kershaw pitched for the Loons in 2007.  Outfielder Carlos Beltran (New York Mets) spent part of the 1996 season with the Lansing Lugnuts and will play for the NL as well.  Placido Polanco, who played for the Peoria Chiefs in 1995, is one of five Philadelphia Phillies selected for this year’s MLB All-Star Game.  Catcher Yadier Molina (St. Louis Cardinals) was a member of the 2002 Peoria Chiefs.  Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez pitched for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2006. 

In addition, West Michigan alums playing in this year’s mid-summer classic include 2006 outfielder Matt Joyce (Tampa Bay Rays) and 2008 catcher Alex Avila (Detroit Tigers).  Finally, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have five former players on the AL All-Star team: Alex Rodriguez (Yankees) played in 1994, DH David Ortiz (Red Sox) in 1996, pitcher Felix Hernandez (Seattle Mariners) in 2003, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (Indians) in 2005, and pitcher Michael Pineda (Mariners) in 2008.

Upton and Valverde named All-Stars

Congrats to former South Bend Silver Hawks outfielder Justin Upton on being named a reserve for the National League All-Stars and former Silver Hawks pitcher Jose Valverde for being named a pitcher on the American League squad.

Full rosters for both teams can be found here.

Justin Upton Bobblehead Night

Forgive me for the lack of posts yesterday.  I got busy trying to catch up from the All-Star Break.

Anyhow, some exciting times at the stadium today with the Justin Upton Bobblehead Giveaway.  The first 1,000 fans will receive this bobblehead sponsored by Mutual Bank and B100.  If you have a ticket to tonight's game, make sure you get here early to guarantee a bobblehead.  The gates open at 4:00 PM.

Diamondbacks Announce Opening Day Roster

Busy day of posting capped off with the Opening Day Roster for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Former Silver Hawks are bolded.

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks announced a number of roster moves today to complete their 25-man roster prior to Friday’s Opening Day game against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.


To complete the Opening Day roster, the D-backs outrighted infielder Tony Abreu to Triple-A Reno and optioned infielder Brandon Allen and right-handed pitcher Esmerling Vasquez to Reno. The club released right-handed pitcher Carlos Rosa for the purpose of selling the player to Japan.

The Opening Day roster includes 12 pitchers, seven infielders, four outfielders and two catchers.

Pitchers (12): Sam Demel, Barry Enright, Armando Galarraga, Juan Gutierrez, Aaron Heilman, David Hernandez, Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, Kam Mickolio, Joe Paterson, J.J. Putz and Joe Saunders.

Infielders (7): Willie Bloomquist, Russell Branyan, Stephen Drew, Kelly Johnson, Juan Miranda, Melvin Mora and Ryan Roberts.

Outfielders (4): Xavier Nady, Gerardo Parra, Justin Upton and Chris Young.

Catchers (2): Henry Blanco and Miguel Montero.

Left-handed pitcher Zach Duke and infielder Geoff Blum will start the season on the 15-day disabled list.

Owen's Spring Training Report - Thursday Afternoon

This afternoon was spent at the Major League stadium, watching the Diamondbacks battle the Oakland A's.  Unfortunately, the A's did most of the battling, beating up on a handful of pitchers (including former Silver Hawk Jordan Norberto) on their way to a 15-7 victory.

A.J. Pollock had the best game amongst former Silver Hawks, going 2-for-2 with 2 doubles and a RBI.  Ryan Wheeler was 1-for-2 with a double, RBI and two runs.  Miguel Montero had a hit and a RBI also.  Justin Upton and Gerardo Parra played but went hitless.

I had the chance to talk to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic for a while, and also met Mark McClune from Fox Sports Arizona.  Both were great guys and willing to talk to me for a long time about the Silver Hawks, my job, etc. 

You all know Nick from my frequent links to his blog (found here). 

Tonight, we're going to try to find a sports bar to watch some basketball games.  Tomorrow, we're likely going to travel to the Giants camp to watch the minor leaguers play a game, and then who knows tomorrow evening.

Below, enjoy a few more pictures from today.

The closest I've ever been to a cactus in my life.

What a view!

Unreal views.

A.J. Pollock on one of his two doubles today.

Lotsof Former Hawks...

Lots of former Silver Hawks are mentioned in the latest blog post by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  Click the link to read it for yourself, or read my very short summary below.

Wade Miley is impressing, Justin Upton is a competitor, Clay Zavada is happy, Miguel Montero is vocal, Barry Enright is good, Yonata Ortega is wild, Tyler Skaggs is nasty.

Yeah, that summary doesn't do it justice.  Just visit the link already.

D'Backs Sign Two More Free Agents

I just recently received an email from the Diamondbacks, announcing the signing of Xavier Nady and Henry Blanco.

I post information like this for two reasons:
1)  It obviously is big news for the parent club of the Silver Hawks
2)  It directly impacts some former Silver Hawks who are trying to get to the majors

Today's signing could directly impact Gerardo Parra and Konrad Schmidt -- both of whom played in South Bend.

Parra's somewhat disappointing big league numbers are the reason why Arizona was looking for left field help.  Nady will most likely be the starting left fielder, bumping Parra to the fourth outfielder spot (with Chris Young in center and Justin Upton in right).

Konrad Schmidt got a taste of the big leagues with a September call-up in 2010, and I guess you could say he had an outside shot of being the backup to Miguel Montero in 2011.  However, with the addition of Blanco, Schmidt will likely go back to AAA Reno and not be a mainstay in the majors until 2012 at the earliest.

Oddly, only two (Montero and Upton) of the projected starting eight position players for Arizona would have spent time with the South Bend Silver Hawks.

Diamondbacks Sign Closer

In addition to trading Mark Reynolds and signing Melvin Mora that I wrote about yesterday, Arizona made another big splash at the Winter Meetings later yesterday evening.

News broke late that Arizona signed closer J.J. Putz to a two-year deal, adding more help to what was a horrible bullpen in 2010.

One thing that everyone is still wondering about though is whether the Diamondbacks will trade Justin Upton -- a rumor that has been picking up steam lately.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has some thoughts on all the deals on his blog, but this quote about Upton from GM Kevin Towers jumped out at me:

On the likelihood of a Justin Upton trade: “With Upton, if everything comes together, it's probably less likely we would end up moving him. We knew going into that exercise it was going to take an awful lot to make a trade. To trade a young player who is 23 years old who is a tool shed, who does pretty much everything and I think is only going to get better in time. But if someone was willing to overpay and we were able to fill multiple holes. We’re not one player away; we’re several players away from being good in a competitive division. I would say we’ll have a pretty good idea when we leave here on Thursday and I would say that it's highly unlikely that Upton leaves the desert.”

Upton, Allen, and Miranda

A good blog post by Nick Piecoro examined yesterday's trade of Scottie Allen for Juan Miranda and also looked into Kevin Towers saying that he would listen to offers on former Silver Hawks outfielder Justin Upton.

Knowing that the Diamondbacks traded away Carlos Gonzalez, who is developing into a tremendous player, would you even consider doing the same thing with Justin Upton? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Honestly, I have no problem with him listening to offers. If I were a GM (and that would be a cold day you know where if I was ever given a GM job), I would never say that a player was untouchable. I know it sounds crazy, but doesn't every player have a price that would make him appealing to be dealt?

Former Hawks with Arizona (Updated)

From time to time, I'll need to switch something up on the blog from the usual posts, and I'll put up information on former Silver Hawks at the various levels throughout the Diamondbacks system. Today, we start with former Hawks playing with the big league club (includes only players that are currently with the club...as of last night's games):

Miguel Montero: 6-for-12, but on the disabled list currently with a right knee strain.

Gerardo Parra: .265, 0 HR, 7 RBI

Mark Reynolds: .242, 9 HR, 24 RBI

Justin Upton: .218, 5 HR, 15 RBI

Daniel Stange: 0-0, 9.00 ERA in two games.

Cesar Valdez: 1-0, 1.80 ERA. Got the win in his only start so far this season (his MLB debut).

Esmerling Vasquez: 0-0, 3.12 ERA in six games. I forgot him on the first post, so thanks to Pete for the comment below to remind me about him.

As best I can tell, those are the only former Silver Hawks with Arizona as of today. Let me know if I missed anyone (other than Brandon Webb, who is on the DL and hasn't pitched at all this season).

Poll Results

I'm not shocked that Justin Upton won the poll for which former Silver Hawks outfielder would have the best career, but I am a bit surprised by the margin. I thought Mike Cameron or Carlos Gonzalez would be a bit closer, but the fans have spoken.

A new poll is on the right asking about former South Bend infielders.

Wednesday Morning Wrap-Up

-Last night I spoke to the Goshen Aktion Kiwanis Club, which is a group of developmentally disabled adults. They were very gracious and excited to have me there, served hot dogs and cracker jacks for dinner, and played baseball songs on the piano while they ate. It was a great time, and I thank them for inviting me to their meeting.

-The Diamondbacks beat my beloved Cincinnati Reds in a spring training game yesterday. Former Silver Hawks outfielder Justin Upton had a home run for the Diamondbacks, while former Dayton Dragons outfielder Jay Bruce homered for the Reds.

-It's rainy in South Bend today, which normally stinks, but it's warm enough outside that I'm not complaining.

-Mark Haley has a new blog entry over at the Tribune's website.

More on Upton

Before I link you to the details of Justin Upton's new contract, I have to tell you about the total brain cramp I had this morning.

I've worked for the Silver Hawks for 367 days now. Every morning (home or road), I grab my computer bag on the way out of my apartment/hotel room, and head to the stadium. So explain to me how today, after doing this same routine task for a year, I drove to the stadium, got out of my car, only to find that my computer bag was not tucked behind the driver's seat as it always is? How in the world do you forget something like that, after doing it EVERY STUPID MORNING?

Anyhow, as you can tell, I returned to my apartment, got my computer, and headed back to work. What a ridiculous waste of time and gas.

Anyhow, here are the details on Justin Upton's new contract, and some quotes from the press conference, courtesy of our friend Nick Piecoro.

And for those that are wondering: Yes, I'm still jealous of how much money Upton makes. I think we all are.

As If He Wasn't Rich Enough Already...

...Justin Upton is on the verge of signing a mega deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. You will certainly remember Upton from 2006 when he was with the Silver Hawks, as an 18-year-old who had just signed a contract with a 6 million dollar signing bonus.

Apparently, the time has come to restructure the deal, and he's going to get paid a lot more money.

Before I go any farther, let me make a couple of things clear:

1) Let's not pile on Upton here. He's just living in the world of baseball and the insane contracts they sometimes pay out. If any of us were offered 6 million to sign our names to a contract, or 50+ million as an extension, we'd all sign it.

2) Many fans have said they didn't really like Upton when he was here. From everything I've been told, he needed an attitude adjustment. I've never met the guy, but I'm willing to cut him some slack. Imagine being 18 and dealing with the pressures of everything saying you are the next Ken Griffey, Jr or Willie Mays. I can forgive him if it went to his head a little bit.

3) Baseball salaries are outrageous. There, I said it. I understand that these players bring huge crowds to the ballpark, and that many owners get rich because of them. Even still, it's absurd how much money these guys make (and yes, I'm insanely jealous).

I'll let Nick Piecoro tell you why he thinks this might not be a great move for the Diamondbacks.

A Bunch of Former Hawks in One Game

Obviously, the Diamondbacks have a handful of former Silver Hawks on the team, but Florida has a couple of them as well, and a lot of them performed well tonight. Here's the rundown, or click here for the box score.

For Arizona:

-Clay Zavada gets the win for Arizona in his major league debut. One inning, two strikeouts, no hits, no walks. Nice work by Zavada.

-Mark Reynolds with a two run home run and 3 total RBI

-Justin Upton with a walk and a run scored

For Florida:

-Emilio Bonifacio with two hits and a run scored

-Dan Uggla with a solo home run

Always good to see the alumni doing well. Full D'Backs system report tomorrow (Friday) along with pictures from Community Field in Burlington

Some Publicity for Justin Upton

Keith Law has ranked former South Bend outfielder Justin Upton in his top 10 breakout players for 2009. Upton, of course, was the #1 overall selection in 2005, and spent the 2006 season with South Bend. Click here for the complete list.