Tag Archives: American Association

2015 Season Wrap-Up

October 9, 2015 IndyBallIsland Leave a comment

With the Atlantic League finishing their championship series earlier this week, the 2015 season for independent baseball has officially ended. Here’s a look at the champions for each league:

Atlantic League

(Photo: Somerset Patriots Official Website)

The Somerset Patriots defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in four games to claim their sixth Atlantic League title.

This was manager Brett Jodie’s first championship of his managerial career. He previously won the championship as a player (2003) and pitching coach (2008 & 2009) with the Patriots.

The Patriots dominated the Atlantic League this season, topping the standings in the Liberty Division for both the first and second half as well as finishing the regular season with an overall record of 89-50.

American Association

(Photo: Laredo Lemurs Facebook Page)

The Laredo Lemurs defeated the Sioux City Explorers after winning games 2, 3, and 4 of the best-of-five games series, marking the first time that the Explorers lost three consecutive games all season.

The Sioux City Explorers (75-25) and the St. Paul Saints (74-26) were battling each other at the top for the entire season, even finishing the regular season with the second and third best records in modern independent league history.

However, it was the Lemurs who were quietly putting together a championship winning team. During the last month of the season, various trades and signings completely overhauled the team preparing them to take their place as the Wild Card team for the playoffs.

Can-Am League

(Photo: Trois-Rivieres Aigles Instagram)

The Trois-Rivieres Aigles defeated the New Jersey Jackals in Game 5 of the five game championship series to win their first Can-Am League championship in their three year existence.

The Aigles were never dominate individually. In fact, no players from the team are represented on the postseason all-star team. But after a disastrous start to August, the team rallied to take the last playoff spot and then turned it on in the playoffs to win the title.

Frontier League

(Photo: Traverse City Beach Bums Facebook Page)

The Traverse City Beach Bums swept the River City Rascals in the best-of-five series to win the Frontier League championship.

This championship was the first for the Beach Bums who are in their 10th season in the Frontier League. The championship match-up was a rematch of the 2010 Frontier League championship which saw the Rascals top the Beach Bums in four games.

After winning their last three regular season games, the Beach Bums finished 2nd in the East Division and ultimately went undefeated in the post season – beating the Rockford Aviators (Wild Card game), Normal Cornbelters, and River City Rascals in their 6 playoff games.

Pacific Association

(Photo: San Rafael Pacifics Facebook Page)

The San Rafael Pacifics defeated the Sonoma Stompers to win the Pacific Association Championship for the second consecutive year.

The Pacifics had the best record in the second half and finished the regular season with the best overall record at 48-30. They have been in the championship series all three years of the league’s existence, winning the last two.

Pecos League

(Photo: Roswell Invaders Facebook Page)

The Roswell Invaders dominated the Sante Fe Fuego to win the Pecos League championship.

The Invaders won both games one and two of the three game series by scoring 17 runs against the Fuego in each game, winning Game One 17-6 and Game Two 17-5.

Baseball America

In addition, Baseball America has released their Independent League Player of the Year as well as their Top 10 Independent League Prospects.

Independent League Player of the Year

Joe Maloney, C/OF from the Rockland Boulders in the American Association.

Maloney was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round of the 2011 draft. He reached as high as High A Myrtle Beach in 2013 before being released after the season. He was signed by the Colorado Rockies organization in February 2014 but was then released after spring training.

That lead him to Rockland and the American Association. He had a decent 2014, but he knew something needed to be done for him to play at his full potential. He had off season surgery on his left shoulder, an injury that had been nagging him for awhile. Maloney came back healthier and better prepared than ever before. He batted .337 and set a Can-Am league record with 93 runs.

After his impressive 2015 season, he was given another shot at affiliated ball. The Minnesota Twins organization has now signed Maloney to a minor league contract. He went to the team’s instructional league this offseason and is preparing for spring training and another chance at playing affiliated baseball.

Baseball America’s Top 10 Independent League Prospects

Austin Wright, LHP, Frontier League (Windy City)
John Brebbia, RHP, American Association (Laredo)
Joe Maloney, C/OF, Can-Am (Rockland)
Noah Perio, SS, American Association (Sioux City)
Patrick Johnson, RHP, American Association (Sioux City)
Taylor Ard, 3B, Frontier League (River CIty)
Logan Vick, OF, American Association (Amarillo)
Connor Little, RHP, Frontier League (Evansville)
Kevin Cravey, RHP, American Association (St. Paul)
Daniel Bick, SS, Can-Am (Ottawa)

Honorable Mentions

Atlantic League

RHP Matt Gorgen, Camden
RHP Marcus Walden, Lancaster
LHP Buddy Boshers, Somerset
2B/SS Mikey Reynolds, York
OF Delta Cleary, Long Island
OF Zach Collier, Lancaster

American Association

RHP Mike Zouzalik, St. Paul
RHP Matt Nevarez, Wichita
RHP Rob Wort, Sioux City
SS Anthony Phillips, St. Paul
3B Christian Ibarra, Amarillo
RHP Matt Larkins, Amarillo
OF Michael Lang, Sioux City
OF Dexter Kjerstad, Amarillo
RHP Victor Cappelen, Joplin
C John Nester, Wichita

Frontier League

LHP Lucas Laster, River City
OF Brian Hansen, River City
RHP Jordan Krause, Frontier Greys

Can-Am

RHP Tony Amenzcua, Sussex County

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Independent Ball

Where Are They Now? Player Updates

July 14, 2015 IndyBallIsland Leave a comment

Recently, a follower of this site sent me an email asking if I could provide an update about how some of the players I had previously covered are doing.

As the halfway mark of the season has approached, here are the updates of 18 players that I have covered on Indy Ball Island. (Clicking their names will take you to their original articles.)

John Holdzkom – In my very first blog post, I remarked that John Holdzkom’s story was the reason I wanted to start this website. John is currently on the DL for the second time this year. He has spent the entire season with the Pirates Triple A team, the Indianapolis Indians. After getting off to a rough start, he is 2-0 on the season with a 3.38 ERA and 27 Ks in 21.1 IP.

(Mark Dickhaus)

Matt Sergey – Another personal post I made early on was covering Matt Sergey’s perfect game for the Washington Wild Things. Matt is back with the Wild Things for the 2015 season. In 9 starts, he is 3-3 with a 2.33 ERA. He has already passed his career-high professionally for innings pitched (54) and has 59 Ks.

Chris Peacock – After being signed in the offseason by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Peacock was released and then returned to the American Association, this time with the St. Paul Saints. He has a 1.59 ERA with a 1-0 record in 11 games.

Three of the players that I covered from the Pecos League TV show are playing this season :

Tony Smith – Tony was traded right before the season started from the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League to the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the American Association. He is 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 16 games (2 of which were starts). He has 33 K in 37 IP.

Sam DiMatteo – Sam is playing with the Old Orchard Beach Surge of the newly formed North Country Baseball League. He is batting .344 in 23 games (102 plate appearances). He also has 2 HR, 16 RBI and 9 stolen bases.

Jacob Fabry – Jacob is once again teammates with Sam and has been playing on the Surge as well. He is batting . 296 in 26 games (129 plate appearances). He has contributed 12 RBI and stolen 8 bases so far this season.

(Sam DiMatteo. Sam took a ball off his ankle.. he’ll be okay!)

Tim Henry – Another one of the Pecos League stories, Tim is back with the Alpine Cowboys in the Pecos League for the 2015 season. In 42 games (118 AB), he has a .246 average with 2 HR and 21 RBI.

Omar Artsen – Omar was signed by the Miami Marlins out of the Pecos League last year; However he was eventually released by the Marlins organization. He then went to the American Association and played 2 games with the Winnipeg Goldeyes going 1-7 at the plate. After being released from the Goldeyes, he played for the Garden State Grays in the Can-Am league for only 3 games with 1 H in 8 AB.

Brandon Cunniff – After earning his second chance at affiliated ball with the Braves, Brandon never looked back. This year, Brandon started the season in the bullpen for the Atlanta Braves. He set an Atlanta rookie record when he didn’t allowed a hit in four relief appearances (four innings) to start his major league career. Brandon has a 2-2 record, 4.23 ERA and 30 K in 30 games with the big league club. At one point in the season, he was sent to AAA Gwinnett where he has a 1-0 record in 3 games. He has since returned to the big league club but is currently on the major league 15 day DL for a groin strain.

(emspeedtraining.com)

Javy Marticorena – Javy achieved his dream of landing on Indy Ball Island when he signed a contract to play in the Mt Rainier League. Sadly, the MRPBL folded after just a few weeks, and Javy is back home working hard for another opportunity.

Nick Renault – Nick, like Javy, was caught up in the MRPBL drama, but he still made the most of his few weeks being back in his hometown in Oregon and enjoyed his short stay. He is now back home in Hawaii.

CJ Beatty – CJ used his never give up attitude to bounce back after being released from the White Sox organization at the beginning of the season. He came back to the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League and is batting .262 in 42 games with 2 HR and 21 RBI. CJ will have to use his positive attitude once more to get through another tough situation as he now finds himself on the DL with a quad injury.

(CJ Beatty)

Al Yevoli – Al was picked up by the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 2015 Frontier League season, but was released during spring training. Instead of returning to the Wild Things, Al landed a spot with the Wichita Wingnuts in the American Association. He has a 3-0 record with a 3.67 ERA and 26 K in 26 games (27 IP).

Stewart Ijames – Stewart started the season with the High A Visalia Rawhide for the Arizona Diamondbacks. After batting .267 with 15 HR and 37 RBI in 60 games, he was promoted to the Double A Mobile BayBears. In 14 games (31 AB), he is batting .323 with 1 HR (his first hit in AA) and 7 RBI.

Matt Fields – After being released from the KC Royals organization, Matt was signed by the Diamondbacks and was sent to Double A Mobile BayBears. In 3 games (11AB) so far, he is batting .364 with 1 HR.

(Matt Fields)

Sean Conroy – After making news as baseball’s first openly gay active player, Sean is still doing well with the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association. He has a 2-1 record with a 0.69 ERA including 24 K in 26 IP in 10 games (2 starts).

Aussie in America updates

Luke Wilkins – Luke is currently 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA starting in 10 games for the Washington Wild Things. He has struck out 35 in 61 IP. His 61 innings pitched are the most on the Wild Things team.

Ben Lodge – In 37 games (130 AB) with the Frontier Greys, Ben is batting .208 with 8 RBI.

Stay tuned and subscribe for more updates as the season progresses!