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.

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.

Montero Activated from DL

This happened a couple of days ago, but former Silver Hawk catcher Miguel Montero was activated from the disabled list on June 12th. Montero was off to a good start this season, hitting .500 (6/12 in four games) with 3 RBI before he hurt his knee trying to beat out a grounder.

In two games since his activation, Montero has gone 2/5 with an RBI, double, walk, and run scored. Here's an article talking about how the Diamondbacks hope the return of their catcher will provide a much needed spark.

Montero played with the Silver Hawks in 2004, hitting .263 with 11 HR and 59 RBI in 115 games.

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).

Former Silver Hawk on D'Backs DL

Miguel Montero has been placed on the 15-day disabled list for the Arizona Diamondbacks with a right knee sprain. John Hester has been recalled from Triple-A Reno to fill his roster spot.

Montero played in South Bend in 2004, and has been a very good young catcher for the Diamondbacks. I don't know a ton about Hester, other than he was very solid in his debut last year and Mark Haley (a former catcher himself) speaks highly of Hester's ability behind the plate.

D'Backs Want Miguel Montero Locked Up Long Term

More from Steve Gilbert about the Diamondbacks wanting to sign former Silver Hawks catcher Miguel Montero to a long term deal.

Montero, 26, was a member of the 2004 South Bend Silver Hawks. While in South Bend, he hit .263 with 11 homers and 59 RBIs. He also led the team with 36 walks, helping him to post a .330 on-base percentage.

Offseason Blogging

As you can probably tell, my goal for this offseason is to have at least one post every weekday. I don't know if that's possible or not since things really slow down in the winter, but that's the stated goal anyhow. So be sure to keep checking back daily for updates, and if you have any suggestions for things you'd like to see, please email me and let me know at oserey@silverhawks.com.

Once the MLB playoffs are fully set, I plan to do daily updates on them, highlighting former MWL players on every roster.

For today's update, here's a nice article on Miguel Montero ('04 Silver Hawk) that was written by Steve Gilbert and published on diamondbacks.mlb.com. Enjoy.