News
Movin' On Up: Marlins duo debuts together
West, Leroux both make first MLB appearance on May 23
By Lisa Winston / MLB.com
05/29/09 11:53 AM ET
The ultimate goal for every Minor Leaguer is to reach the Major Leagues. Every week, Movin' On Up will take a look at prospects who have reached that goal and made their big league debut.
Full-scale changes to the Florida Marlins pitching staff made May 23 a big day for a pair of youngsters. Left-hander Sean West was brought up from Double-A Jacksonville to make the start against cross-state rival Tampa Bay that night, while reliever Chris Leroux was recalled to bolster the overworked bullpen.
West capped a comeback from shoulder surgery that wiped out his 2007 campaign. One of the Marlins' five first-round and/or supplemental first-round picks in 2005, the 6-foot-8 southpaw took the place of struggling starter Ricky Nolasco in the rotation.
In eight starts for the Suns, he had gone 4-2 with a 4.85 ERA and had 50 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings, but one rough start in which he gave up nine earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings inflated those numbers. He'd allowed two earned runs in his last two starts and had given up one run or fewer in four of his eight outings.
In his debut, a 10-3 loss to Tampa Bay May 23, West had a strong start, and was not involved in the decision.
A music fanatic who plays several instruments, including the drums, West got into the rhythm quickly, tossing five innings of four-hit ball, allowing two runs and walking four while striking out five.
Facing Rays rookie Jeff Niemann, who stands 6-foot-9, the 6-foot-8 West combined with his mound opponent to form the third-tallest starting pitching combination in Major League history.
Leroux, who replaced lefty Dave Davidson after he was designated for assignment, had a 5.89 ERA in 15 games in relief for the Suns but, like West, the numbers were somewhat deceptive. Take away one bad game in which he coughed up five runs in one-third of an inning, and that ERA dips to 3.50.
The 6-foot-6 right-hander is a seasoned international pitcher for his home country of Canada despite growing up as a catcher before shifting to the mound while at Winthrop University in South Carolina.
Tommy John surgery interrupted his development, but the Marlins still took a gamble on him with a seventh-round pick in 2005 and oversaw his rehab there.
He made his pro debut in 2006 and last summer had a 3.65 ERA as set-up man at Class A Advanced Jupiter, leading the Florida State League with 57 games and limiting hitters to a .225 average.
He made his big league debut May 26 in a 5-3 loss to Philadelphia, the second of two pitchers, allowing one run on three hits in two innings and was sent back to the Minors the next day.
The pair was joined by yet a third Marlins player who made his debut during the holiday long weekend, as catcher Brett Hayes came up on May 22 to replace pitcher Cristhian Martinez on the roster, and saw his first action that night in a 15-2 loss to Tampa Bay, going 1-for-1 with a run scored as a late-game insertion at first base.
The club had 14 pitchers before the move was made. Hayes came up from Triple-A New Orleans, where he was hitting .277, and .368 in May. Though he worked exclusively as a catcher for the Zephyrs, he can play first and third base as well as left field and, in fact, came on at first base in his debut. He showed his versatility even more when he came on to pinch run in his next appearance, scoring a run.
The following players also made their Major League debuts between May 22-28:
Jason Berken, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Triple-A Norfolk May 26 when OF Lou Montanez went on the DL.
DEBUT: May 26 in a 7-2 win against Toronto. The starting pitcher, he earned the win with five innings of work, allowing two runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out three.
NOTES: Berken was the second prospect to make his debut this season in the Orioles rotation after Brad Bergesen. The 2006 sixth-rounder out of Clemson put himself on the radar in 2008 with a strong season at Double-A Bowie, proving he was finally recovered from Tommy John surgery he underwent in '05. He began '09 back with the Baysox before moving up to Norfolk when Bergesen was promoted and proceeded to go 2-0 with a 1.05 ERA for the Tides, earning the call from a very impressive Norfolk rotation. He takes the rotation spot in Baltimore of recently released Adam Eaton and should stick around for awhile as part of the homegrown Baltimore trend.
Carlos Fisher, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Louisville May 22 when P Ramon Ramirez was sent down.
DEBUT: May 24 in a 4-3 11-inning win against Cleveland. The last of five pitchers, he earned the win with one inning of work, walking one and striking out one without allowing a hit.
NOTES: The Lewis-and-Clark product worked as a starter his first few seasons before moving to the bullpen full-time in 2008 to maximize his best stuff, including a heavy sinker. In his debut in that role, he posted a 3.73 ERA at Double-A Chattanooga before moving up to Louisville at the end of '08 to go 5-0 with a 1.04 ERA. He was 2-0 with two saves and a 2.00 ERA when promoted, having struck out 21 and walked four in 18 innings. He also limited International League hitters to a .175 average.
David Hernandez, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk May 28 when P Chris Ray was sent down.
DEBUT: The starting pitcher in a 5-1 victory over Detroit May 28, he got the win with 5 2/3 innings of five-hit ball, allowing one run and walking four while striking out three.
NOTES: The second Orioles prospect brought up from Norfolk to make his debut in the span of three days, Hernandez took the rotation spot of injured rookie Koji Uehara. The 16th-round pick from 2005 has been the system's most dangerous strikeout pitcher over the last few years (thanks largely to his deceptive delivery), leading his respective league in strikeouts in both 2007 and 2008 and leading the Minors in '07 when he had 168 strikeouts in 145 innings at Class A Advanced Frederick. But in 2008 he also improved the control of his lively, low-90s fastball and dropped his ERA more than two runs, making all the difference. With the Tides, his 12.46 strikeouts per nine innings at the time of his promotion ranked second among all Minor League starters.
Jamie Hoffmann, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque May 22 when OF Xavier Paul went on the DL.
DEBUT: May 22 in a 3-1 loss to the Angels. Pinch-hitting for P Ramon Troncoso, he flied out in the sixth inning.
NOTES: Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of high school in Minnesota, Hoffmann was actually a bigger hockey prospect than baseball hopeful, and was the Carolina Hurricanes' eighth-round draft pick in 2003. But a day before he was slated to start classes at Colorado College he decided to go the baseball route and signed with the Dodgers, making his pro debut in 2004. He was hitting .307 with two homers, 16 RBIs and five steals at Double-A Chattanooga to start the '09 season before being promoted to Albuquerque, coming off a pair of breakthrough seasons in which he hit .309 with nine homers and 81 RBIs at Class A Advanced Inland Empire in 2007 and then .278 with 10 homers and 71 RBIs at Double-A Jacksonville in 2008, showing good prowess on the base paths both seasons as well.
Fernando Martinez, OF, New York Mets
CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Buffalo May 26 when OF Ryan Church went on the DL. DEBUT: May 26 in a 6-1 win against Washington. Batting sixth and playing right field, he went 0-for-3 with an RBI.
NOTES: Martinez's debut marked the long-awaited arrival of the Mets' best high-level prospect, one which has been anticipated for years. Or at least it seems like it's been forever but in truth, Martinez is still just 20 years old, so it can't have been that long. He was hitting .291 with eight homers at Buffalo when recalled and inserted quickly into the Mets lineup that day. Signed out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old in 2005, Martinez is regarded as the whole package though his power is just starting to blossom. His career high had been just 10 longballs back in 2006. He'd combined for a .281 average in three pro seasons, and had missed time due to injuries all three seasons.
John Mayberry Jr., OF, Philadelphia Phillies
CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley May 23 when P Sergio Escalona was sent to the Minors.
DEBUT: May 23 in a 5-4 loss to the New York Yankees. Batting eighth and playing right field, he went 2-for-3 with a double and a three-run homer in the fifth inning off Andy Pettitte.
NOTES: The son of former big-league slugger John Mayberry, John Jr. became the first Phillies player to homer for his first big league hit since Chase Utley did it in 2003. Acquired from Texas in a November 2008 trade for former first-rounder Greg Golson, Mayberry was a first-round pick twice, once by Seattle which he passed over in order to attend Stanford, and then again by the Rangers. Mayberry was hitting .277 with 10 doubles and eight homers for the IronPigs when recalled.
Anthony Swarzak, RHP, Minnesota Twins
CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Rochester May 20 when P Craig Breslow was waived.
DEBUT: May 23 in a 6-2 win against Milwaukee. The starting pitcher, he got the victory with seven shutout innings, walking two and scattering five hits while striking out three.
NOTES: Swarzak's first start for the Twins marked the first time in club history a player had thrown seven innings of shutout ball in his big league debut. Starting in place of the injured Glen Perkins, the 2004 second-rounder got the call after posting a 2.25 ERA in seven starts at Rochester, a span in which he'd struck out 32 in 44 innings while walking 11. A power pitcher who has been highly regarded through his climb through the system, his 3-4 record with the Red Wings was not representative of his showing, since the club scored a total of three runs in his first three starts, accounting for three of his four losses.
Dale Thayer, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Durham May 22 when P Troy Percival went on the DL.
DEBUT: May 22 in a 15-2 win against Florida. He got the save "the hard way," with three innings of three-hit ball, allowing one run.
NOTES: One of the most effective short relievers in his six-plus years in the Minors, the first few of which he spent with San Diego, the 28-year-old Thayer had an 0.93 ERA and six saves in his 16 games with Durham, striking out 11 in 19 1/3 innings and limiting hitters to a .219 average. He moved to a set-up role with the Bulls in 2008, the first time in six seasons he'd posted fewer than 20 saves in a season. He's combined for a 2.33 ERA in that span and a .226 average against.
Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
