December 5, 2011
Minor league notebook: Beliveau earns Cubs honor
by Ed Flaherty/
Cubs prospect Jeff Beliveau (Johnson, R.I.) posted a combined 6-2 record with a 1.57 ERA in Single-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. (photo: Adam Kline/Tennessee Smokies)
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For Jeff Beliveau, the 2011 baseball season was so good that he saw no reason to bring it to an end.
The Rhode Island native turned in a sparkling summer in the Chicago Cubs’ minor-league system as a reliever with Single-A Daytona followed by a promotion to Double-A Tennessee.
Combined, the 24-year-old Beliveau was 6-2 with five saves and a 1.57 ERA in 53 relief appearances between Daytona and Tennessee.
The left-hander struck out a total of 89 batters while issuing just 19 walks in 74⅓ innings of work. Beliveau (Johnson, R.I.) limited the opposition to a .192 batting average between Daytona and Tennessee.
As a result of those outstanding numbers, Beliveau was named the Cubs’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2011.
Beliveau’s year didn’t end after helping Tennessee reach the Southern League championship series, however.
After wrapping up his 2011 minor-league season, Beliveau joined Team USA for both the IBAF World Cup and the Pan-American Games, which saw him playing well into October. Following his Team USA stint, Beliveau was scheduled to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Mesa Solar Sox.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Beliveau was an 18th-round selection of the Cubs in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, coming out of Florida Atlantic University, where he spent his junior year after transferring from the College of Charleston after two seasons.
Beliveau has played four seasons in the Cubs organization, posting a 17-9 record with a 2.69 ERA.
In 2008, Beliveau was 2-1 with a 2.80 ERA in 14 minor-league appearances and followed that with a 5-4 mark with three saves and a 3.94 ERA in 2009. Last season, Beliveau was 4-2 with a 2.66 ERA and two saves.
“His numbers have always been good, but now, he’s commanding real well,” Cubs minor-league director Oneri Fleita told the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill. “He’s pitching to the bottom of the strike zone, which really allows you to put together a lot of success. Hitters don’t see him real good. They don’t square him up. They don’t center him up at all.”
Beliveau started the 2011 season in Daytona, where he made 12 relief appearances. He had an 0-1 record with two saves and a 0.52 ERA to earn a promotion to Double-A Tennessee.
Beliveau continued his strong summer on the mound with the Smokies, going 6-1 with three saves and a 1.89 ERA in 41 relief appearances.
Beliveau was a high school all-state performer in Rhode Island from 2003-05, and went 10-0 with a 0.71 ERA as Bishop Hendricken won its third consecutive state title in 2005. Beliveau’s 10-0 mark in 2005 included a no-hitter and a one-hitter.
At the College of Charleston, Beliveau was 6-4 with a 3.40 ERA as a freshman and 3-2 with a 4.56 ERA as a sophomore before transferring to Florida Atlantic.
With the Owls, Beliveau was 5-4 with a 4.62 ERA.
“Jeff had a tremendous season, and we are proud of his accomplishments as a professional player,” John McCormack, FAU’s head baseball coach, said of Beliveau’s performance in the Cubs’ system in 2011.
Flaherty on fast track
Another Cubs prospect, Ryan Flaherty (Portland, Maine) continued his climb up the Chicago minor-league system in 2011.
Flaherty, who played all four infield positions as well as in the outfield in 2011, made the jump from Double-A Tennessee to Triple-A Iowa in July.
The 25-year-old Flaherty was outstanding at Tennessee in 2011, hitting .305 in 83 games for the Smokies. The former Vanderbilt University All-American hit 14 home runs with 66 RBI. He had a .384 on-base percentage.
In Iowa, Flaherty hit .237 with five home runs and 22 RBI.
Selected by the Cubs in the compensation round in the 2008 MLB draft (41st overall), Flaherty has shown steady improvement throughout his four years in the Chicago system.
In 2008, Flaherty hit .297 with short-season Boise before playing the 2009 season with Single-A Peoria, where he hit .276.
In 2010, Flaherty hit .286 in 108 games with Single-A Daytona before making the jump to Double-A Tennessee, where he hit .183 in 23 games.
Flaherty’s numbers spiked in 2011 and he was named Southern League Player of the Week in May after going 10-for-22 with two doubles, two homers and 11 RBI in six games.
Flaherty also was named a Southern League Midseason All-Star before being called up to Triple-A Iowa.
Flaherty led Deering High School (Portland, Maine) to two state titles while also playing on Maine’s 2004 American Legion World Series champion.
Strong finish for Locke
Jeff Locke spent the majority of his 2011 season with Double-A Altoona in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, but the Conway, N.H., native had an exciting final two months.
First, Locke made the jump from Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up to Pittsburgh for his major-league debut in the final month of the season.
Locke made 23 appearances with Double-A Altoona, posting a 7-8 record with a 4.03 ERA. He was an Eastern League Midseason All-Star. The Eastern League All-Star Game proved to be a homecoming for Locke, who didn’t pitch in the contest, held in Manchester, N.H.
The 24-year-old Locke, originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the second round in 2006, made five starts with Triple-A Indianapolis in 2011. He was 1-2 with a 2.22 ERA, earning a promotion to Pittsburgh in September.
Locke made his major-league debut with a start against the Florida Marlins on Sept. 10, a 3-0 loss. Locke threw five innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs while walking four and striking out one.
Overall, Locke made four starts with the Pirates, going 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA.
Can-Am crowns Colabello
Worcester Tornadoes first baseman Chris Colabello (Milford, Mass.) was named the 2011 Can-Am League Player of the Year after an outstanding season.
Colabello, who completed his seventh season in the Can-Am League, finished second in each of the Triple Crown batting categories.
A former Division 2 honorable mention All-American at Assumption College, Colabello has batted over .300 in each of his seven Can-Am seasons. In 2011, Colabello hit .348 with 20 home runs and 79 RBI.
In addition, Colabello led the Can-Am League in total bases (219), extra-base hits (52), doubles (32) and slugging percentage (.600).
Serafin steps up
Connecticut native and former University of Vermont standout Joseph Serafin gave himself a launching point for his 2012 minor-league season when he made the jump from Single-A Winston-Salem to Triple-A Charlotte for one start in August.
The 25-year-old Serafin (Tariffville, Conn.), who was drafted out of UVM by the Chicago White Sox in the 37th round of the 2009 MLB draft, was 5-11 with a 5.52 ERA at Winston-Salem in 2011.
Serafin, a left-hander, made an impression with an outstanding performance Aug. 24, when he gave up just five hits while striking out seven in a 3-0 win over Salem. Serafin didn’t issue a walk in the win and earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors for his effort.
Five days later, Serafin was pitching in Triple A, getting the start for Charlotte of the International League in a game against Norfolk.
Serafin turned in a solid outing in his Triple-A debut, going five innings and giving up seven hits and two earned runs. He struck out four and walked three.
Serafin got a no-decision in Charlotte’s 4-3 win.
This article originally appeared in the November-December 2011 issue of New England Baseball Journal.
Ed Flaherty can be reached at feedback@baseballjournal.com
