I’ll try to post daily during the final days leading up to the MLB regular season since we can anticipate a lot of announcements to come out over the course of the next six days.
Since yesterday St. Louis Cardinals C Matt Pagnozzi (Madison, ’02) has been reassigned to minor league camp. A few posts ago I wrote about how he was getting an extended look in spring training even though there wasn’t room for him on the big league roster.
Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Max Scherzer (La Crosse, ’04) has earned a the job as the team’s 5th starter. Similar to the situation with Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals, as the 5th starter Scherzer won’t be needed during the first couple trips through the rotation. Therefore, he’ll be placed on the disabled list retroactive to the date of his most recent spring appearance (March 27th) which will allow him to be activated in time for his first start on April 14th.
Other players that are still battling for a roster spot include Cincinatti Reds LHP Daniel Herrera (La Crosse, ’05), Los Angeles Angeles RHP Fernando Rodriguez (Duluth, ’03), Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Jeff Weaver (Dubuque, ’95), Milwaukee Brewers 3B Casey McGehee (St. Cloud, ’01), New York Mets OF Bobby Kielty (Kenosha, ’97), Oakland Athletics INF Jack Hannahan (Mankato, ’99), Pittsburgh Pirates C Jason Jaramillo (St. Cloud, ’02), Seattle Mariners RHP Chris Jakubauskas (St. Cloud, ’99), and Texas Rangers RHP Doug Mathis (Duluth, ’04).
Rodriguez is a player that has flown under my radar. He pitched most recently on Sunday for the Angels striking out four in two innings while allowing two hits and one unearned run. For the spring he’s pitched in five games for nine innings and has struck out 13 while walking only one. He’s allowed seven hits and has an ERA of 3.00. He’s never pitched higher than Double-A and last year went 7-11 with a 5.53 ERA pitching the majority of the season as a starter. He made six appearances with Duluth in 2003 before signing with Angels.
Another 15 NWL alumni who I did not list above appear to be locks to make to make their respective teams. I’ll write more about some of them over the course of the next week.
