What ever happened to Matt Tuiasosopo? Ryan Rowland-Smith? Rob Johnson? These are the questions we answer today as we take a look at how former Rainiers with other minor league teams did in 2012.
Let’s dive right into it. We’ll go team-by-team through the International League, and then check the final numbers on the ex-Rainiers of the PCL.
- Rob Johnson, Buffalo. Hit .207 in 45 games for the Mets affiliate, did spend time in majors as a back-up catcher.
- Sean Kazmar, Buffalo/Binghampton. Appeared in 11 Triple-A games and 57 Double-A games as a utility infielder in the Mets system.
- Oswaldo Navarro, Buffalo/Binghampton. Opened season in AA before May promotion to Buffalo, hit .210 in 100 Triple-A at-bats.
- Matt Tuiasosopo, Buffalo. Hit .242 with 12 HRs and 57 RBI in 131 games in Triple-A. Posted .690 OPS, played many positions.
- Garrett Olson, Buffalo. Went 4-7, 4.63 in 122 innings swinging between rotation and bullpen, pitched in one MLB game for Mets.
- Chris Seddon, Columbus. Went 11-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 20 starts before promotion to Cleveland.
- Matt Mangini, Durham/Mobile. Hit .273 with 5 HR in 83 games for Tampa’s Triple-A team, released in August, signed with Arizona who sent him to Double-A Mobile. Helped Mobile win Southern League championship.
- Josh Lueke, Durham. Went 2-6, 5.59 in 42 games for Rays affiliate. Had 71 K’s in 67 innings.
- Josh Wilson, Gwinnett. Infielder hit .241-5-43 in 122 games for Braves Triple-A affiliate. Pitched three times in blowouts with 0.00 ERA.
- Jose Yepez, Gwinnett. Batted .264-3-30 in 79 games, sharing catcher duties. Solid OPS of .724.
- Anthony Varvaro, Gwinnett. Reliever had a 2.23 ERA in 44 innings; saw big league time.
- Jeff Clement, Indianapolis. Hit .276-16-57 in 416 ABs as DH/1B. OPS of .825, September call-up to Pirates.
- Tug Hulett, Lehigh Valley/Reading. Split season between AA and AAA in Phillies system. Batted .325 in 120 ABs in Triple-A.
- Ryan Feierabend, Louisville/York. The lefty made seven starts for the Reds Triple-A team (1-4, 6.75), but spent most of the year with the independent York Revolution of the Atlantic League (9-5, 2.70).
- Brett Tomko, Louisville/Reno/Mobile. Still going at age 39, Tomko was 0-6, 3.78 for Louisville before making a handful of starts in the Diamondbacks system.
- Joel Pineiro, Norfolk. Made two starts in May for the Orioles affiliate before injuries ended his season.
- Justin Thomas, Scranton/Pawtucket. Had a 3.45 ERA in 62 innings pitching for both the Red Sox and the Yankees AAA teams, saw brief MLB time with both.
- Rene Rivera, Rochester. Catcher hit .226 with ten homers for the Twins AAA affiliate.
- Luke French, Rochester/New Britain. Opened season dominating Double-A, then went 1-5 with a 6.42 ERA in 74 innings in AAA.
- Manny Delcarmen, Scranton. Was 3-5, 4.42 in 57 innings for Yankees affiliate.
- Josh Bard, Albuquerque. Had big year as backup catcher, hitting .331-6-32 in just 148 at-bats.
- Jared Wells, Colorado Springs. Posted 5.96 ERA in 19 games out of Sky Sox bullpen.
- Yusmeiro Petit, Fresno. Went 7-7, 3.46 in 28 starts for Giants affiliate.
- Luis Valbuena, Iowa. Hit .303 with .885 OPS, earned promotion to Chicago.
- Ryan Rowland-Smith, Iowa. Was 3-6, 3.94 in 77 innings for Cubs affiliate. Swung between bullpen and rotation.
- Chris Woodward, Las Vegas. Hit .285 in over 300 at-bats, announced retirement. Will get minor league coaching/managing offers.
- Chris Jakubauskas, Reno/Las Vegas. Had a combined line of 2-3, 4.64 in 54 innings pitched.
- Nate Robertson, Iowa/Las Vegas. Veteran lefty was a combined 0-3, 8.07 in 29 innings.
- Nick Green, New Orleans. Blasted PCL at a 344/397/599 rate before getting called up by Marlins.
- Adam Moore, Omaha. Hit .296 in 115 at-bats after being claimed on waivers by Royals, September call-up.
- David Winfree, Reno. Hit .263 and abruptly retired in late May.
- Brad Nelson, Round Rock. Posted .279 average with team-leading 24 homers and 81 RBI. OPS was .852.
- Sean Green, Round Rock/Somerset. Had a 5.60 ERA in 19 games for Rangers affiliate, released in late May. Finished in independent Atlantic League.
- Fabio Castro, Sacramento/Midland. Was 3-7, 6.92 in 14 games for Sacramento, sent to AA Midland and went 2-7, 4.63.
- Ryan Langerhans, Salt Lake. Batted .250-11-54 in 96 games for Angels affiliate.
- Sean White, Salt Lake. Was 0-1, 8.12 in 29 games for the Bees.
Just for fun, a few independent Atlantic Leaguers of note:
- Prentice Redman, Bridgeport. Hit .282 with 21 home runs and 82 RBI in 503 at-bats.
- Gaby Hernandez, Mobile/Southern Maryland. Was roughed up in AA in the Diamondbacks system, finished up with the Blue Crabs.
- Tommy Everidge, Lancaster. Hit .255-9-46 in 404 at-bats.
- John Halama, Lancaster. Went 13-9, 3.14 in 27 starts and 188 innings pitched. I’m stunned he is still playing, too.
- Bobby Livingston, Sugar Land. Lefty was 9-2 with a 4.37 ERA in 16 starts.
- Brandon Haveman, York. Outfielder hit .290 with six homers in 482 at-bats.
- Johan Limonta, Mexico City/York. After a month crushing the Mexican League with a .384 batting average, Limo returned to the states and hit .277 in 155 at-bats for York.
Well, that was fun. Again, I’m sure I missed a few guys, but I feel like we covered most of the players you may remember from the last ten years. Whoops, make that 11 years – Halama and Tomko pitched for Tacoma in 2001!
Links:
- I missed it on Tuesday, when ESPN.com’s Jim Caple looked at the “Ex-Mariners Factor” in the MLB playoffs.
- The Mariners Insider blog is back and gaining steam at The News Tribune’s website – it’s been updating a few times a week lately, add it to your regular stops.
- St. Louis took a 2-1 lead over San Francisco last night in a rain-delayed game, and now the Giants turn to UW product Tim Lincecum for a crucial Game Four start. The two-time Cy Young Award winner had a difficult regular season, but he was terrific in the division series. This will be fun to watch tonight (5:07 PM).
- Reminder: you can enter to win the opportunity for Rainiers mascot Rhubarb The Reindeer to trick-or-treat with your kids. Here’s what it will look like, and here are all of the details.
We’ll be back Tuesday with… I don’t know, something? The World Series should be set by then, I’ll probably write about that.
Hey Mike
John Halama is playing for fun from wh at Larry LaRue told me on twitter as I ask about it.. Also Y. Petit did make a start in majors this yr..
Thought is their any way to find out what Chris Shelton, Jerry Owens are up to? Possible do blog on former Tacoma Rainers & what their up to, if their way to find out what their doing…