TWO LOCALS SWITCH OVER TO PITCHING.Byline: HEATHER GRIPP Minor League When Brett Wayne was drafted by the Dodgers in 2002, his childhood dream of being an infielder for his favorite team appeared right on track. That dream is all but dashed now, but Wayne doesn't seem to mind as the Royal High of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. graduate may have found a more effective way to someday get playing time at Dodger Stadium • • [ . Wayne is one of two local products in the Dodgers minor-league system who have spent the season being converted to pitchers. Palmdale graduate Chris Testa joined Wayne in Single-A Columbus (Ga.) for a transition that has both players optimistically reevaluating their goals after being frustrated as hitters. ``I'll do whatever it takes to get up there,'' Wayne said of getting to the big leagues. Wayne entered the final weekend of the season with four saves, a 2.80 ERA, 69 strikeouts and 27 walks in 64 1/3 innings, in which he held opponents to a .189 average. Although he had dropped to 2-4 by losing his last three decisions, the right-hander had allowed just two earned runs in his last 14 1/3 innings. Instead, he has been hurt by games such as Wednesday's, in which the Catfish surrendered three unearned runs. Wayne, 24, made his pitching debut July 30 of last year in the 16th inning of a game against Lexington. He retired the side in order to earn the win for South Georgia South Georgia, island, c.1,450 sq mi (3,760 sq km), S Atlantic Ocean, c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) E of Cape Horn. A dependency of the Falkland Islands from 1908 to 1985 (along with the South Sandwich Islands, a group of nine small, volcanic islets c. and ended up pitching in four more games that season. During the offseason, he focused exclusively on pitching. ``Last year I told the manager I could pitch in an emergency situation,'' said Wayne, who pitched in high school before becoming a full-time shortstop at Saint Mary's College Saint Mary's College, at Notre Dame, Ind., near South Bend; Roman Catholic; for women; est. 1844 as St. Mary's Academy, chartered 1850 at Bertrand, Mich.; moved and chartered 1855. The school shares certain programs and facilities with the Univ. . ``They took me up on it and liked what they saw I guess. I didn't think I'd be doing it all the time. But I like it. ... ``I'm a little behind most pitchers at this level, but I've got an edge over most of them because I was a hitter in the pros and I know how hitters in the pros think. I know how hard hitting can be.'' Testa, who pitched occasionally last season and early this season in addition to playing outfield, is 1-2 with two saves and a 6.48 ERA through 41 2/3 innings since a mid-season decision to make him a pitcher. The 23-year-old left-hander had 53 strikeouts, but his 44 walks showed his need for improved control. Testa tied his season high for strikeouts Thursday when he had six in three innings of no-hit work against Greensboro (N.C.). ``I don't really miss hitting anymore,'' said Testa, a former fifth- round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies For the National Hockey League team (1976 – 1982), now known as the New Jersey Devils, see . The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They are in the West Division of the National League. . He batted .215 for Single-A Vero Beach Vero Beach (vēr`o), city (1990 pop. 17,350), seat of Indian River co., E Fla., on Indian River (a lagoon and part of the Intracoastal Waterway); founded c.1888, inc. 1919. (Fla.) this season before getting shipped to Columbus to focus on pitching. --Honors: With minor league seasons wrapping up, league honors are being announced and locals have been well represented. Among the most notable is Minnesota Twins prospect Jason Kubel (Highland of Palmdale), who was named Rookie of the Year Rookie of the Year may refer to:
abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in in 90 games with Rochester (N.Y.). Garrett Atkins (UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX ), a third baseman for the Colorado Rockies' Triple-A affiliate Colorado Springs, was named to the Pacific Coast League For the high school sports league, see . The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a minor league baseball league operating in the West and Midwest of the United States. It is one of two leagues, along with the International League, playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below postseason all-star team. He entered the weekend batting a league-best .364. Despite being promoted to Triple-A for the final month of the season, Texas Rangers prospect Kameron Loe (Granada Hills/Cal State Northridge) had pitched well enough in Double-A - he still has the league's fourth-best ERA - to earn a spot on the Texas League all-star team. Delwyn Young (Littlerock), a second baseman in the Dodgers organization, was named to the Single-A Florida State League The Florida State League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the state of Florida. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth step all-star team. Second baseman Kevin Howard (Westlake) earned Carolina League honors. Catcher Mike Nickeas (Westlake) and outfielder Brian Horwitz (Crespi of Encino) made the Northwest League all-star team. Lancaster JetHawks catcher Phil Avlas (Kennedy) is a California League all-star. In low Single-A, outfielder Chris Dickerson (Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks) earned Midwest League honors, and outfielder Delmon Young (Camarillo) made the South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, or "Sally League," is a minor league baseball league which operates mostly in the southeastern United States, although it now has teams in New Jersey and Ohio. team, for which the 18-year-old was named the league's most outstanding major-league prospect. Young leads the league in hits and RBI. Heather Gripp, (818)713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com |
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