Record Number of NWL Alumni Open Camp
55 Players Get an Invitation in 2009
(ROCHESTER, MN) As pitchers and catchers report to big league camp this weekend and the rest of the players follow in the coming days, a record number of those players once honed their skills in the Northwoods League. Twenty-six of the thirty Major League teams will have at least one NWL alumnus in camp as a record 51 participate league wide. Of the 55 players, 31 have big league experience with the other 24 hoping to break camp in April on a Major League roster for the first time. There will be a total of nine catchers, six infielders, 14 outfielders, and 26 pitchers in camp. The Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Rays all have four NWL alumni on their spring roster while Cleveland, Houston, Kansas City, and San Francisco have none.
For Northwoods League franchises, the St. Cloud River Bats claim the most alumni with seven, while the Wisconsin Woodchucks have six; Alexandria, Duluth, Mankato, and Waterloo each can claim five.
Four players—Nevin Ashley, Ben Jukich, Brett Hunter, and Jordan Zimmerman—were in the Northwoods League as recently as 2006. Meanwhile, Jeff Weaver, who hasn’t played in the Northwoods since 1995, recently signed with the Dodgers and might be getting his final chance to prolong his big league career.
Throughout spring training fans can track the progress of their favorite NWL alumni here on “The Hot Corner” blog. The complete list of NWL alumni in big league camp is below.
MLB Team ## Name Pos NWL Team Year
Arizona 39 Max Scherzer RHP La Crosse 2004
Arizona 55 Reid Mahon RHP Thunder Bay 2004
Arizona 71 Evan Frey OF Eau Claire 2005
Atlanta — Phillip Britton C Waterloo 2004
Baltimore 52 George Sherrill LHP Kenosha 1998
Boston — Paul McAnulty OF Mankato 2001
Boston — Zach Daeges OF Waterloo 2005
Chicago Cubs 64 Justin Berg RHP Wisconsin 2003
Chicago Cubs 66 Doug Deeds OF Mankato 2001
Chicago WS 41 Lance Broadway RHP Wisconsin 2004
Cincinnati 52 Danny Ray Herrera LHP La Crosse 2005
Cincinnati 78 Sam Lecure RHP Brainerd 2005
Cincinnati 88 Ben Jukich LHP Rochester 2006
Cincinnati — Chris Denove C St. Cloud 2004
Colorado 12 Clint Barmes INF Waterloo 2000
Colorado 19 Ryan Spilborghs OF Madison 2001
Colorado 72 Chris Frey OF Duluth 2004
Detroit 28 Curtis Granderson OF Mankato 2001
Florida — Jay Gibbons OF Manitowoc 1997
Florida — Willie Collazo LHP Waterloo 1999
LA Angels 39 Robb Quinlan INF St. Cloud 1998
LA Angels 97 Fernando Rodriguez RHP Duluth 2003
LA Dodgers 9 Juan Pierre OF Manitowoc 1996
LA Dodgers 16 Andre Ethier OF Rochester 2002
LA Dodgers 63 Jeff Weaver RHP Dubuque 1995
LA Dodgers 71 Valentino Pascucci OF Rochester 1998
Milwaukee 52 Casey McGehee INF St. Cloud 2001
Minnesota 17 Pat Neshek RHP Wisconsin 2000
NY Mets 32 Carlos Muniz RHP Alexandria 2002
NY Mets 73 Dillon Gee RHP Brainerd 2005
NY Mets — Bobby Kielty OF Kenosha 1996
NY Yankees — Kyle Anson C Madison 2002
NY Yankees — Mark Melancon RHP Duluth 2004
NY Yankees — P.J. Pilittere C Mankato 2001
Oakland 22 Jack Hannahan INF Mankato 1999
Oakland 73 Brett Hunter RHP Alexandria 2006
Philadelphia 49 Joe Bisenius RHP Duluth 2003
Pittsburgh 24 Tom Gorzelanny LHP St. Cloud 2001
Pittsburgh 35 Jason Jaramillo C St. Cloud 2002
San Diego 4 Nick Hundley C Alexandria 2004
Seattle 57 Mark Lowe RHP Wisconsin 2003
Seattle 71 Chris Jakubauskas RHP St. Cloud 1999
St. Louis 83 Matt Pagnozzi C Madison 2002
St. Louis 86 Allen Craig INF Alexandria 2005
Tampa Bay 18 Ben Zobrist OF Wisconsin 2003
Tampa Bay 46 Joe Nelson RHP Kenosha 1995
Tampa Bay 63 Chris Nowak INF Rochester 2003
Tampa Bay 68 Nevin Ashley C Eau Claire 2006
Texas 48 Thomas Diamond RHP St. Cloud 2003
Texas 49 Doug Mathis RHP Duluth 2004
Toronto 7 Curtis Thigpen C Waterloo 2002
Toronto 44 Casey Janssen RHP Wisconsin 2001
Toronto 49 Jeremy Accardo RHP Alexandria 2001
Washington 16 Josh Willingham OF Austin 1999
Washington 76 Jordan Zimmerman RHP Eau Claire 2006
