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.

Former Hawks Win AFL Championship

The Scottsdale Scorpions brought home the Arizona Fall League championship over the weekend, with seven former Silver Hawks on the winning squad.

Members of the winning team included:
Marc Krauss
A.J. Pollock
Konrad Schmidt (played only one game due to injury)
Josh Collmenter
Bryan Shaw
Daniel Stange
Bryan Woodall

Congrats to the former Hawks!

Arizona Fall League Update

I can't believe I haven't updated the AFL since October 28th. The Scottsdale Scorpions cruised through the league with a 20-11 record and will be playing for the title on Saturday.

Former Silver Hawks pitcher Josh Collmenter tied for the most strikeouts in the league with 30.

Here are your final regular season stats for the former Silver Hawks:

Hitters
Marc Krauss: .305, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 20 R
Konrad Schmidt: .250, 0 HR, 1 RBI (only one game played due to injury)
A.J. Pollock: DNP .295, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 10 R,

Pitchers
Josh Collmenter: 4-0, 3.04 ERA, 26.2 IP, 9 ER
Bryan Shaw: 0-1, 3.48 ERA, 10.1 IP, 4 ER
Daniel Stange: 2-0, 8.44 ERA, 10.2 IP, 10 ER
Bryan Woodall: 1-0, 5.40 ERA, 6.2 IP, 4 ER

Arizona Fall League - October 13th Results

Scottsdale won 9-1. They are now 2-0.

Hitters
Marc Krauss: 0-4, 2R, BB, K (.167, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
Konrad Schmidt: 1-4, R, RBI (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
A.J. Pollock: 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB (.500, 0 HR, 1 RBI)

Pitchers
Josh Collmenter: W, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Bryan Shaw: DNP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Daniel Stange: DNP (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Bryan Woodall: DNP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

From the Bend to the Bigs

Another former Silver Hawks player made his MLB debut last night. This time, it was catcher Konrad Schmidt making an appearance for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Schmidt was a 2008 Silver Hawks catcher, batting .259 with two homers and 18 RBIs for South Bend. He had worked his way through double-A and triple-A this year, earning a late call-up.

He had a pinch hitting appearance last night against the Reds and drew a walk.

Non-Roster Invitees

The Arizona Diamondbacks sent out a press release last night, announcing the non-roster invitees to spring training. These are 17 players that are not on the 40-man roster, but will be competing in major league spring training (with many of them eventually reassigned to their minor league camps).

This is certainly an honor to be invited, with a chance to compete with the big boys. Who knows, maybe one of these guys impresses in camp, and find a roster spot on Opening Day.

I've bolded the former Silver Hawks.

Pitchers (9): Right-handed pitchers T.J. Beam, Josh Ellis, Barry Enright, Kyler Newby, Rodrigo Lopez, Wes Roemer, Bryan Shaw and Matt Torra, and left-handed pitcher Tommy Layne.

Catchers (3): Carlos Corporan, Sean Coughlin and Konrad Schmidt.

Infielders (2): Jeff Bailey and Mark Hallberg.

Outfielders (3): Collin Cowgill, Evan Frey and Drew Macias.