It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that position players cannot work their way through a farm system and reach the major leagues, but Independent Baseball pitchers succeed with much greater frequency.<\/p>\n
Among the newer faces this typist has come across who seem to be intriguing candidates for major leaguers to give a long look at some time in 2010 it once again is moundsmen who stand out.<\/p>\n
I am not going to go so far as to predict here in late January that I can tell you who the break-through Indy players will be this season, but I will offer up two hurlers who have positioned themselves as reasonable candidates.\u00c2\u00a0 It might not happen in April, but one hurler has inched himself well up the ladder and the other has more than a little going for him even if it takes somewhat longer.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n Further along is right-hander Vince Perkins<\/strong>, who used time in the Atlantic <\/strong>and Northern Leagues <\/strong>productively and has a non-roster invitation to the Chicago<\/strong> Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/strong>spring training camp in Mesa<\/strong>, AZ.<\/strong> <\/strong>Lefty Derrick Loop<\/strong>, a product of the Golden League<\/strong>, has positioned himself in an attempt to use his devastating pickoff move to eventually succeed with a new organization, the San Diego<\/strong> Padres. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Perkins Gives Major Assist to Wally Backman<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Vince Perkins<\/strong> has been in major league camps four previous times with Toronto<\/strong> <\/strong>and Milwaukee<\/strong>, but much of the time he was damaged goods, dealing with an elbow that eventually required Tommy John <\/strong>surgery.\u00c2\u00a0 The elbow hurt as far back as 2004, then got worse when he was with Team Canada <\/strong>in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>Now 28, Perkins says his velocity came back quickly.\u00c2\u00a0 He did not satisfy his third major league organization, though, and the Chicago White Sox <\/strong>let him go at the end of spring training in 2008.\u00c2\u00a0 A week later he reported to Camden<\/strong>, <\/strong>NJ of the Atlantic <\/strong>League, where he had a 7.97 earned run average over seven appearances.\u00c2\u00a0 Part of the problem, he explained from his Labelle, FL <\/strong>home, was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153still a matter of (not) trusting my arm.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n So 6-foot-5 Vince Perkins took a break of several weeks \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to see if I wanted to continue\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 He was doubtful.<\/p>\n Perkins also had an angel, of sorts, on his side.\u00c2\u00a0 Joliet<\/strong>, IL<\/strong> <\/strong>was managed by former major league second baseman Wally Backman<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was hard nosed, but fun to play for,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Perkins praises.\u00c2\u00a0 Backman, who will manage the New York<\/strong> Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/strong>farm club at Brooklyn<\/strong>, NY<\/strong> <\/strong>this season, would invite major league teams out to see Perkins pitch, as he rang up a 3-0 record and 2.43 ERA in seven Northern League <\/strong>appearances.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was very helpful,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the pitcher says.<\/p>\n One of the teams Backman invited was Chicago<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <\/strong>north side team, the Cubs. <\/strong>They signed Perkins after the season, and he rewarded them with a 7-2 record, five saves and a 3.02 ERA in 53 relief appearances last summer, most of it at Triple-A Iowa.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n A self-described sinker ball pitcher (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I try to get ground balls\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), Perkins now gets a chance to show the parent Cubs what he can do.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think they are expecting me to come in and win a spot (in the bullpen),\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Perkins said.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think I am one of the arms they are looking at\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and it could be either right away or later in the season.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The stuff has always been there if I throw like I can,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he added.\u00c2\u00a0 This time he is far enough removed from surgery to trust his arm.<\/p>\n * * * *<\/p>\n STILL LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL INDEPENDENT BASEBALL COVERAGE?\u00c2\u00a0 VISIT OUR BLOG, <\/strong>www.IndyBaseballChatter.com<\/a><\/p>\n * * * *<\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Derrick Loop Takes His Pickoff Move to the Padres<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n When a pitcher picks 17 runners off base in a season, he gets attention.\u00c2\u00a0 Throw in 82 strikeouts with only 24 walks and 56 hits allowed in 71.1 innings and the fact he is a 26-year-old left-hander and it means he has not yet peaked.<\/p>\n This is what Derrick Loop<\/strong> did last summer, pitching primarily in Class A and briefly at the end in Double-A.\u00c2\u00a0 He was finishing a two-season stint in the Boston Red Sox <\/strong>organization with the combined 4-3 record, 18 saves and a 1.89 earned run average.\u00c2\u00a0 And he says his pickoff total was 17, which is more than impressive when one realizes the Chicago White Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mark Buehrle <\/strong>led the major leagues with only eight.<\/p>\n Loop has moved on to the San Diego<\/strong> farm system, realizing the Padres are not nearly as deep with prospects as the Red Sox are.<\/p>\n Loop was drafted in the 23rd<\/sup> round by Cleveland<\/strong> <\/strong>in 2006 after four years at Cal<\/strong> State-Los Angeles<\/strong>, but he got only one year when the Tribe cut its farm system back.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I learned I needed to work harder,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the Lake Mathews, CA <\/strong>resident confided this week, and the opportunity to put the new attitude to work came about only days after the release from Cleveland when Alex Carbajal, <\/strong>Loop\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitching coach in college, gave him an opportunity in Chico, CA, <\/strong>where Carbajal held a similar job.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-3, 220-pound hurler put together an 8-5, 3.82 season with the Outlaws, helping them to a Golden League <\/strong>championship, then really blitzed league <\/strong>hitters so impressively in six appearances (3-0, 1.53 and a 1.87 batting average) early the next season that his contract was sold in the middle of a game to Boston.\u00c2\u00a0 Loop added another six victories that \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 campaign in the California League<\/strong>, and still never took a loss.<\/p>\n He sounds supremely confident, though, because of his cut fastball that he feels he can spot on both sides of the plate to confuse both left and right-handed hitters.\u00c2\u00a0 That superb pickoff move won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hurt, either.<\/p>\n Gagne, Scheppers in the News<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Non-roster invitations to major league camps for Independent grads have been coming in so slowly we can only confirm 11 to this point although both Philadelphia <\/strong>and Colorado <\/strong>are showing some interest in former Cy Young <\/strong>award winner Eric Gagne, <\/strong>who went 6-6, 4.65 as a starter for Quebec <\/strong>in the Can-Am League <\/strong>last summer.<\/p>\n Touted Tanner Scheppers (St. Paul, MN, American Association) <\/strong>will be in Texas<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <\/strong>big league camp as will veteran catcher Eliezer Alfonzo <\/strong>(St. Paul) with Seattle<\/strong> <\/strong>and first baseman Brian Myrow (Winnipeg, Northern League) <\/strong>with Pittsburgh<\/strong>. <\/strong><\/p>\n (This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 Fans may subscribe at www.WirzandAssociates.com, enjoy his blog, www.IndyBaseballChatter.com<\/a>, or comment to RWirz@aol.com<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 The author <\/strong>has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that position players cannot work their way through a farm system and reach the major leagues, but Independent Baseball pitchers succeed with much greater frequency. Among the newer faces this typist has come across who seem to be intriguing candidates for major leaguers to give a long look at some time in 2010 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}