Jewish Baseball News

By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night, nor even pesky tropical storms, shall stay this website from its appointed rounds:

• Ike Davis was mobbed by New York Mets teammates Sunday after hitting his second round-tripper of the day, a walk-off HR against the Houston Astros. The New York Mets 1B has 22 HRs this year, tied for 7th best in the N.L. By the way, if you plan to be in New York City on Sept. 9, Davis is hosting a benefit concert to raise funds for childhood-cancer research.
• Just three months into his professional career, St. Louis Cardinals prospect Jeremy Schaffer has been named an Appalachian League all-star. The 22-year-old Tulane University alum is hitting .271 with 10 HRs and leads the league both in doubles (20) and RBIs (51) in just 229 at-bats.
• Kevin Youkilis hit a grand-slam HR against the New York Yankees on Tuesday (8/21/2012) to break a 2-2 tie. The third slam of his career, it sent the Chicago White Sox’s home crowd into a frency (see video). Later in the week, Youk told Israel Sports Radio he’ll play for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic if the team makes it past next month’s qualifying round, presuming he’s healthy. Click here for tickets to the qualifiers in Jupiter, Fla.
• Nate Freiman leads all AA players with 102 RBIs. It’s the second straight 100 RBI-plus season for the 6’7″ San Diego Padres prospect. A first baseman with the San Antonio Missions, Freiman is hitting .292 with 23 HRs. Talk about consistent: he had 20 RBIs in April, 22 in May, 21 in June, 20 in July, and 19 so far in August.
• Former Cleveland Indians prospect Alex Kaminsky is making a name for himself in the independent Frontier League. A 24-year-old righty with the Gateway Grizzlies, Kaminsky hasn’t allowed a run in his past three starts, including a 6-and-one-third-inning stint Thursday (8/23/2012) en route to a 1-0 win over the Windy City ThunderBolts. He’s 10-4 this season with a 3.43 ERA.
• Ben Guez has had only 265 at-bats at the AAA level this year, but that hasn’t stopped the Detroit Tigers prospect from collecting six triples, tying him for 4th-highest in the International League. Guez is hitting a combined .297 in AAA and AA this year, with 8 HRs, 44 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and a. 414 on-base percentage.
• Tampa Bay Rays prospect Sean Bierman is quietly racking-up quite a rookie season. A 10th-round draft pick this June, the 6’0″ lefty recently was promoted to the Bowling Green Hot Rods (A) from the Hudson Valley Renegades (A-short season). In a combined 12 games, Bierman is 5-2 with a 2.67 ERA, 39 strikeouts, and just 6 walks in 57-and-a-third innings — less than one base on balls per 9 innings.
• Ian Kinsler went 3-for-5 Saturday (8/25/2012) with a HR and a three-run triple in a 9-3 rout of the Minnesota Twins. Kinlers hit .308 in his last 10 games, with 2 HRs, 9 RBIs, and 8 walks. ESPN.com notes that he’s hitting outside balls far better than inside balls this season.
• Sam Fuld sparked another win last week (8/20/2012), leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Tampa Bay Times said it best: “Fuld delivered a spark with two great catches and two hits, including stretching a single into a double in the eighth, then lighting the Captain Morgan lamp as the player of the game. ‘Sammy does everything right,’ manager Joe Maddon said.”

Have any good news about Jewish athletes? Send it to sbarancik@jewishbaseballnews.com.

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By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News

Dry your Monday-morning tears with these updates:

• Talk about turnarounds. By the time the Philadelphia Phillies sent Michael Schwimer down to the minors last month, the 6’8″ reliever had lost a game, blown a save, and was nursing a 8.53 ERA. But since returning to the City of Brotherly love this month, the 6’8″ reliever has held opposing batters to a paltry.118 batting average and reduced his bloated ERA to a more respectable 5.56.
• If the Boston Red Sox don’t recall Ryan Kalish soon, International League pitchers may buy him a ticket to Beantown anyway. After missing the better part of a year due to shoulder and neck surgery, the left fielder is sprinting his way through a rehab stint that began with Salem Red Sox (High-A) and most recently brought him to the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA). His performance there has been nothing short of remarkable. In just 20 at-bats with Pawtucket, the 24-year-old is hitting .500 with 2 doubles, 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, a .600 on-base percentage, and a 1.050 slugging percentage. Can you hear us, Bobby Valentine?
• Our hearts go out to Washington Nationals prospect Cameron Selik. The 6’2″ reliever was the picture of control with the Potomac Nationals (High-A) this season, striking out 33 batters in 22 innings while walking only 2, one of them intentional. Duly impressed, the Nats promoted him to the Harrisburg Senators (AA). But the magic didn’t last. In his first relief appearance as a Senator on Tuesday (6/5/2012), Selik retired the only batter he faced and then was removed with a lat injury. According to this blog, he may be out for the season, although that is unconfirmed.
• St. Louis Cardinals prospect Garrett Wittels is making the most of an unlikely (and probably short-lived) promotion to the club’s AAA team. Promotion was hardly in the cards for the shortstop, who was hitting just .208 with 6 RBIs for the Quad Cities Bandits (A) when he was called up to the Springfield Cardinals (AA). Wittels saw only one plate appearance there before the Memphis Redbirds (AAA) called. Chances are the Cards are just using Wittels to fill temporary roster gaps — and may not take him particularly seriously at this point. But Wittels is 2-for-2 since joining Memphis, with a pinch-hit triple, pinch-hit single, and two RBIs.
• The Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League couldn’t be much happier with Alex Kaminsky. The former Cleveland Indians prospect is a perfect 4-0 since joining the team this summer and has held opposing batters to a .213 average. And he’s no longer alone. Ex-Chicago White Sox prospect Mike Schwartz recently joined the Grizzlies. In his first two games, the DH/IF went a combined 4-for-9.

Have any good news about Jewish athletes? Share it with sbarancik@jewishbaseballnews.com.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The September/October issue of Jewish Sports Review identified three more Jews playing minor-league baseball, all of them right-handed starting pitchers:

• Alex Kaminsky, formerly of Wright State University, signed a free-agent contract with the Cleveland Indians in June. In 14 starts with the “rookie-league” Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Kaminsky went 6-5 with a 2.48 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 69 innings. During the “AA” Akron Aeros season finale Monday (9/6/2010) — his lone outing with the team — he pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out a pair to earn the win. Fellow Jews on the Aeros include SP Eric Berger and 2B Jason Kipnis.
• Justin Schumer, who schooled at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, signed a free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants in July. Since then he has pitched three games for the “rookie-league” AZL Giants and six for the “A-short season” Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, assembling a combined record of 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and .196 opponent batting average.
• Mexico City native Mauricio Tabachnik, 20, is in his third season with the San Diego Padres’ franchise. In 2010, he went 3-4 with a 3.48 ERA, 42 strikeouts and 12 walks for the “A-short season” Eugene Emeralds.

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