Tag Archives: Frontier League

Independent Ball

Aussie in America (Part Three) – Ben Lodge

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(Photo by Ryan Schembri – SMP Images / ABL Media)

Luke Wilkins isn’t the only Aussie in the Frontier League this season.  Recently the Frontier Greys, the league’s travel team, played in Washington, PA where I was able to catch up with Grey’s outfielder Ben Lodge.

Lodge, who is 23 years old, is a native of Adelaide, Australia where he has been playing with the Adelaide Bite of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) since 2011.  Unlike Wilkins, Lodge did not play college baseball in America and was the only Bite player with no college or professional playing experience outside of Australia.

However, the lack of experience didn’t stop Lodge from being named Rookie of the Year for the 2012/2013 ABL season.

After winning the Rookie of the Year award, Lodge was then invited to play on Team Australia in Sydney for the MLB Opening Series with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks.  In 2014, he was once again chosen to represent Australia on the world stage.  This time he played in the 21/U Baseball World Cup held in Taiwan.

Lodge finished the 2014/2015 ABL season batting .247 in 42 games with career highs in home runs (6) and RBIs (26) all while having a perfect fielding percentage in the outfield.

In February, the Frontier Greys signed Lodge to play professional baseball here in America.

In 30 games so far this season with the Greys, Lodge is batting .224 with 6 doubles and 3 RBIs.

As with our other Aussie in America posts, you may comment or send in any questions you have for our next Q & A segment with Lodge.

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Independent Ball

Frontier League Draft Class Part Three – One Month Later

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We are about one month into the Frontier League season, so it is time to check in to see how the players from the 2015 draft are doing with their teams.

14 drafted players started the season on a roster for Opening Day, but as of June 12th, only 10 remain.

The four players released were:

  • Sheehan Planas-Arteaga, OF, Windy City, R2 – Released on May 22nd after going hitless in 2 games with 3 AB.
  • Zach Stoner, C, Windy City, R2 – Released on May 25th after playing in 5 games.  He was batting .235 in 17 AB.
  • Connor Jones, OF, Frontier Greys, R1 – Released on May 26th after 5 games and 10 AB. He was batting .200.
  • Robbie Buller, RHP, Gateway, R2 – Released on May 31st after pitching in 5 games (7.1 IP) with a 3.68 ERA.

Here are the updates for the remaining 10 players in the league:

  • Nick Grim, RHP, Rockford, E – Has pitched in 5 games (4 starts) with a 0-2 record. In 16.2 IP, he has a 5.94 ERA.
  • Kevin Jefferis, RHP, Normal, R1 – Was placed on the DL from June 2nd – 10th.  Has appeared in 5 games with a 1-0 record. In 9.2 IP, he has 15 K and a 3.72 ERA.
  • Scott Harkin, RHP, Gateway, R2 – Has pitched in 8 games with a 0-1 record. Despite the 1 loss, he has the lowest ERA on the team at 1.28 with 14 K in 14 IP.
  • Ty Nelson, OF, Lake Erie, E – Has played in 20 games. In 70 AB, he has a .257 avg and is leading the team in HR with 4.
  • Joe Iorio, RHP, Washington, R1- Has appeared in 5 games with 7.2 IP.  His current ERA is 5.87.
  • Kyle Bogese, RHP, Frontier Greys, R2 – Has pitched in 6 games (4 starts) with a 0-4 record. In 18.1 IP, he has a 5.40 ERA.
  • David Russo, LHP, Rockford, R2 – Has appeared in 7 games with a 1-0 record. In 8.1 IP, he has a 5.40 ERA.
  • John Fidanza, C, Washington, R1 – Has played in 13 games. In 41 AB, he has a .244 avg.
  • David Duncan, RHP, Florence, R1 – Has pitched in 5 games (2 starts) with a 0-1 record. He has a 7.71 ERA in 11.2 IP.
  • Jack Clearly, C, Joliet, E – Has played in 17 games with an impressive .314 avg in 51 AB.

(All stats courtesy of Pointstreak).

I look forward to following these players more as the season progresses and as we draw closer to the All-Star break.  In the upcoming weeks, I will be doing individual posts with some of these players.  My first post will be with the Washington Wild Things draft picks –  Pitcher Joe Iorio and Catcher John Fidanza.

You can also check out Part One and Part Two of the Frontier League draft class by clicking on the links.

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