For
the week of :
March 31, 2003
Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.
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Major league stars get
extra rehab work in minor league games
With the Arizona-based major league teams all having broken spring training camp, rehabbing veterans used the final weekend of minor league games to get in a little extra work before rejoining their teams for the regular season. San Diego first baseman Ryan Klesko joined the Padres' AAA team for some extra ABs over the weekend. In Saturday's game against Oakland's AA squad, Klesko batted third in each inning before leaving after his sixth time at the plate. The veteran left-handed hitter struggled against good-looking southpaw John Rheinecker, going 0 for 5 against the Oakland prospect. Klesko fanned three times on nasty breaking balls. In his sixth at bat, this time against right-hander Michael Frick, Klesko smacked a long, towering homerun to right field into a stiff wind. When returning to the dugout, Klesko commented to his teammates, "Well, at least I got a hit today."
One of Klesko's teammates in this game was San Diego's super prospect Khalil Greene, who demonstrated good range and solid defense at the shortstop position (read the interview with Greene). Also appearing in the Saturday afternoon contest was Oakland centerfielder Chris Singleton, who led off every other inning for the AA Midland team. Singleton is recovering from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for much of spring training. A couple of starting pitchers got their last pre-season tune-up on Sunday morning in the minor league finale between the Cubs' and Angels' respective AA and AAA teams. Angels' ace left-hander Jarrod Washburn, coming off a shoulder injury, pitched 7 1/3 innings against the Cubs' AAA team, yielding only one run. He then left for the airport to join the parent team for the nationally-televised major league opener in Anaheim that evening.
Washburn squared off against former major league pitcher Alan Benes, who will start the season with AAA Iowa. Highly-touted right-handed reliever Francis Beltran also pitched for the Cubs. With the AA teams facing each other on the adjacent field at Mesa's Fitch Park, the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano pitched six strong innings in that game, giving up two runs and hitting a double in the gap. The native Venezuelan will be Chicago's fifth starter this season. The Giants' Class A teams simultaneously sent a couple of lively arms to the mound in the pair of Friday afternoon games against the Cubs at Fitch Park. Both Melvin Valdez (acquired from the Braves' organization in the Russ Ortiz - Damian Moss trade) and Carlos Portorreal showed good stuff, and will be worth following during the 2003 season. Cubs' 18-year-old third base prospect Alfredo Francisco will be sidelined for six weeks after surgery to repair a broken hamate bone. --------------------------- Our first minor league road trip to Tucson is scheduled for this weekend, so we'll be back soon with a report from the Pacific Coast League. --- Bill Mitchell |
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