Independent Baseball Chatter – by Bob Wirz
What a jump!
A record 57 players who have been in one or more Independent Baseball leagues are among those in–or heading to–major league spring training camps.
IndyBaseballChatter.com, which has been tracking Indy players for years, has identified 40 pitchers and 17 position players who are on 40-man rosters (27) or are non-roster invitees (30), a jump from the previous count of 52 two years ago. Fifty players were in a similar group last year.
Forty-five players, another record, played in major league games last season.
American Association alumni in MLB Spring Training
- RHP Tim Adleman (El Paso ’12, Lincoln ’12) – Cincinnati
- RHP Derek Eitel (Wichita ’15) – Washington
- RHP Junior Guerra (Wichita ’11, ’13) – Milwaukee
- RHP James Hoyt (Wichita ’12) – Houston
- RHP Brandon Kintzler (St. Paul ’09) – Minnesota
- LHP James Paxton (Grand Prairie ’10) – Seattle
- OF David Peralta (Wichita ’12, Amarillo ’13) – Arizona
- C Eddy Rodriguez (El Paso ’09, Sioux Falls ’10) – Minnesota
- RHP Chaz Roe (Laredo ’12) – Atlanta
- RHP Tanner Scheppers (St. Paul ’09) – Texas
- RHP Max Scherzer (Fort Worth ’07) – Washington
- RHP Bo Schultz (Grand Prairie ’11) – Toronto
- RHP Chris Smith (Wichita ’13) – Oakland
- LHP Caleb Thielbar (St. Paul ’11, ’16) – Miami
