Congratulations to J.C. Romero and the Phillies

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a fan of the Salt Lake Bees is watching players move on to success in the Major Leagues. Salt Lake baseball fans have been fortunate to watch many good players cut their teeth here before establishing themselves as solid Major Leaguers. David Ortiz, Torii Hunter, John Lackey, and Chone Figgins are a few of the players that fans in Utah have had the pleasure to watch. But of all the Salt Lake players that I have had the opportunity to watch and get to know Phillies reliever J.C. Romero is my all time favorite. It was because of Romero that I was rooting for the Phillies to win the World Series.

Romero made his first appearance for Salt Lake in 1999. At that time my 11 year old son and I attended almost every home game. We would sit on the front row by the bullpen which gave us an opportunity to talk to the pitchers. Game after game J.C. was outgoing and friendly toward my son and he quickly become my son's favorite player. It was very special to an 11 year old boy to feel like he was friends with a professional ball player. The following year Romero started the season with the Twins but was sent back to Salt Lake. My son was excited to have his favorite player coming back to town but I was worried he was setting himself up for disappointment. I explained to him the previous season was a long time ago and that Romero might not even remember him. As it turned out my worries were unfounded. Romero made a point to talk to my son and it was clear that J.C. remembered my son. From that moment I've always rooted for J.C. Romero.

Romero was outstanding for the Phillies in the 2009 post-season. He did not give up a run in 7.1 innings, striking out 4 without walking a hitter. He was the winning pitcher in 2 World Series games. The ultimate goal of every Major League player is to play on a World Series winner. J.C. Romero has now accomplished that goal and in the process proving that truly good guys can succeed in sports. Congratulations to J.C. and the rest of the Phillies.

Welcome Back to Salt Lake DMac

One of the best players in the history of the Salt Lake Bees franchise returned to Franklin Covey Field Tuesday night. 2004 minor league player of the year Dallas McPherson is now in the Florida Marlins organization, playing 3B for the Albuquerque Isotopes. Since AAA returned to Salt Lake in 1994, McPherson is the most complete hitter that has played for the club. He played half a season for the Stingers in 2004 and he put up monster numbers. Critics of McPherson point to his high strikeout rate, but there is no arguing about his ability to crush a baseball. 20 homeruns, .313 average and an OPS of 1.049 in 2004 were impressive numbers but you had to see McPherson play to truly appreciate his ability. He had tremendous bat speed and hit with power to all fields. He was an above average third baseman and an excellent base runner. McPherson was called up to the Angels at the end of the 2004 season. At the time, there was no doubt he was ticketed for a great Major League career with the Angels. Unfortunately, since 2004 injuries have derailed his Major League career.

Since the end of the 2004 season McPherson has had three major surgeries, one on his hip and two on his back. He missed the entire 2007 season recovering from the latest back surgery. All of the reports on McPherson indicated the surgery corrected his back problems and he would be ready to go at the beginning of the 2008 spring training. Despite the positive outlook on McPherson's health, the Angels released him. McPherson signed a free agent contract with the Marlins and is currently putting up very good numbers for their AAA team.

After watching McPherson play this week against the Bees I am convinced he is healthy and ready to be a productive Major League hitter. In the two games against the Bees, DMac is 4-8 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. He has made two outstanding plays at 3B and is running the bases without any noticeable problems. For the year McPherson is hitting .302 with 10 homeruns. He is always going to be a high strikeout hitter and so far this season he has K'd 41 times. But he has also walked 19 times and his OBP is a sparkling .414. He has an OPS of 1.049 and is hitting the ball with authority almost every time up.

McPherson has reached the limit of what he can accomplish and prove in the minor leagues. It is time for him to get an opportunity to play every day in the Major Leagues but I don’t see it happening with the Marlins. Jorge Cantu and Mike Jacobs have the corner infield positions locked up. But there are other teams that could use a power hitting corner infielder and, if the Marlins aren't going to give McPherson a chance, I hope they will trade him to a club that will. Dallas McPherson is now ready to fulfill the promise of being a solid Major League power hitter. Hopefully the opportunity comes this season.

Wil Nieves

One of my favorite Salt Lake players currently in the Major Leagues is Washington Nationals catcher Wil Nieves. Nieves was the primary catcher for Salt Lake during the 2003 and 2004 seasons and was typical of many players that have played for the Buzz-Stingers-Bees. A solid player AAA level player but not a Major League prospect. Nieves was never in the Angels catching position plans. He was holding the catching position long enough for Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis, and Bobby Wilson to advance through the Angels system to the upper minor leagues. Nieves was a battler and played with a lot of hustle. He was friendly with the fans and would always take time to sign autographs before the game. He was polite, soft spoken, and he is the only player that I am aware of that used contemporary Christian music for his walk up song. By 2005, Jeff Mathis was ready to assume the AAA catching duties and Nieves was let go.

After leaving the Angels system, Nieves played three years for the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. He did appear in 35 games for Yankees and hit a soft .164. At the end of the 2007 season the Yankees released Nieves and he signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. This move appeared to firmly established Wil Nieves as another minor league journeyman catcher.

Injury problems this season left the Nationals with little choice but to call Nieves to the Major Leagues. So far Nieves has made the most of his opportunity. He as played in 11 games for the Nationals, hitting .379. The crowing moment for Nieves was a walk off homerun he hit against the Chicago Cubs on April 26. Nieves' homerun is one of the things that make being a fan of a minor league team so much fun. It is heart warming to see a good guy like Wil Nieves have a moment of glory in the Major Leagues. Bees fans take a lot of pride that star players David Ortiz, Torii Hunter, Francisco Rodriguez, and John Lackey played for Salt Lake on their way to the Major Leagues. But what is exciting for me is seeing players like Wil Nieves, Nathan Haynes, and Ryan Budde making the most of their opportunity to play in the Major Leagues. Congratulations to Wil Nieves for his game winning homerun against the Cubs. Hope you hit a few more Major League homeruns this season.

Butler, Gordon, and Teahen

In the most recent mailbag column on the official Royals website, Dick Kaegal answered a question about the number of homeruns Alex Gordon and Billy Butler would hit this season. His response was neither Gordon or Butler consider themselves homerun hitters and their homerun production in 2008 should be in the 15-20 range. This projection will disappoint many Royals fans who are hoping one of these players would develop into a 30+ homerun hitter in the middle of the Royals lineup. But if Gordon, Butler, and outfielder Mark Teahen were to each hit 15-20 homeruns in the middle of the lineup, the Royals would be a solid offensive team.

With slugging percentages above .500, Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and Mark Teahen are off to very good starts. If the Royals are going to be a contending team again these three players are going to have to shoulder the bulk of the load. My fear is the Royals coaching staff will buy into the notion that since Teahen, Butler, and Gordon all occupy the so-called power positions in the lineup, they will begin to tinker with their approach at the plate in an effort to make them homerun hitters without regard on how that change will impact the rest of their hitting abilities. This has happened in other organizations and it would be a shame if the Royals derailed the careers of young hitters by trying to make them into something they are not.

Scott Stahoviak and Doug Mientkiewicz, who came up through the Twins organization in the 1990s, both had their careers damaged by Tom Kelly's attempts to transform them into power hitters. In 1994, Scott Stahoviak was a 24 year old first baseman for the Twins AAA team the Salt Lake Buzz. Stahoviak had a solid year for the Buzz; 41 doubles, 6 triples, 13 homeruns, 94 RBI, and a batting line of .318/.413/.529. Stahoviak also walked 70 times. I saw Stahoviak play more than 40 games that summer and there was no doubt he had Major League potential. He could drive the ball with authority to all fields. After being a part-time player for the Twins in 1995, Stahoviak took the full-time first base duties in 1996. He hit 13 homeruns, drove in 61 runs, and produced at a respectable .284/.376/.469 clip. The following year Stahoviak's numbers declined significantly and his Major League career was over.

Doug Mientkiewicz followed a similar path as Stahoviak. Although not as good as Stahoviak's 1994 season, Mientkiewicz's 2000 season of 18 homeruns, 96 RBI, and a batting line of .285/.324/.400 was very good. Mientkiewicz had good bat speed, excellent gap power, and played Gold Glove level defense at first base. The following year, Doug Mientkiewicz was the Twins first baseman and had an excellent season. 15 homeruns, 74 RBI, and a line of .306/.387/.464. Mientkiewicz garnered five points in the 2001 MVP balloting. But like Stahoviak, Mientkiewicz has never again reached his 2001 numbers. Because of his defensive abilities, Mientkiewicz has had a long career, but he has never developed into a front line Major League first baseman. Recently I spoke with a man that was part of the Buzz front office in the 1990s and he shared with me that both Stahoviak and Mientkiewicz suffered because Tom Kelly tried to make both of them into Kent Hrbek.

Watching Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and Mark Teahen in 2008 should give all Royals fan hope for the future. Each of these guys have the ability to be major run producers for the Royals. They have excellent bat speed, they can drive the ball to all fields, and they display a composure that will allow them to perform in the clutch. But none of these guys are going to make a run at Steve Balboni's single season homerun record. I hope the Royals will continue to allow these guys to play to their abilities and not make the same mistake Tom Kelly and Twins did with Scott Stahoviak and Doug Mientkiewicz.