Chris Sharpe (Burlington, Mass./UMass Lowell) made the jump to Double A after playing in his first pro All-Star Game. (Rob Lynn)Since 1980, only eight ballplayers have made their professional debut at the major-league level, and only two since 2000. With seven minor-league levels, traversing the … [Read more...]
19 minor-league All-Stars from New England
Ben Bowden (Lynn, Mass.) — now in Triple A — pitches in the MLB All-Star Futures Game. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)There’s something about an All-Star Game that evokes the best of what baseball has to offer, providing similar emotions in both the players and the fans. From the different uniforms … [Read more...]
Oral history: How the MIAA’s Super 8 was born six years ago
(Photos: Dave Arnold/New England Baseball Journal)In the summer of 2013, then Lincoln-Sudbury head coach Kirk Fredericks put into action a plan that he and his father, Don, had been batting around for some time. In an effort to give Massachusetts high school baseball a shot in the arm, a proposal … [Read more...]
John Andreoli focuses on power game amid whirlwind journey
John Andreoli (Shrewsbury, Mass.) celebrates his first career grand slam May 12. (Bare Antolos/Rochester Red Wings)After seven years in the Chicago Cubs organization that drafted him, John Andreoli has, as Johnny Cash might say, “been everywhere, man.” Entering the 2018 season, the Shrewsbury, … [Read more...]
BC alumnus Brian Rapp embracing the joy in the pro game
Brian Rapp fanned 21 in his first 20 2/3 innings in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Dennis Hubbard/Sports 'N' More Photography)In his first full season of professional baseball, former Boston College hurler Brian Rapp is enjoying the game just as much, if not more so than when he had his cheeks stuffed with … [Read more...]
Fatherhood brings new perspective to Bryce Brentz
Bryce Brentz enters his 10th pro season with 34 MLB games under his belt. (Billie Weiss/Red Sox, Louriann Mardo-Zayatt/Pawtucket Red Sox)After a roller-coaster year away from the organization that drafted him, 30-year-old outfielder Bryce Brentz returned to the Red Sox system in January and was … [Read more...]
Ben Bowden, Jake Fishman enjoying life in the Eastern League
Eastern Mass. pitchers Ben Bowden (Colorado) and Jake Fishman (Toronto) are playing their trade in Double A.The Double-A Eastern League provides the greatest opportunity in minor-league baseball for New England-bred players to have the most opportunity to play closer to their origin … [Read more...]
At 6-foot-5, things looking up for South Portland’s Hunter Owen
As a sophomore last season, Hunter Owen went 6-1 with a 1.25 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 39 innings. (The Forecaster)A growing body oftentimes can be a hindrance for a young athlete as he tries to adjust to physical changes that can put a wrench in his development. Already checking in at 6-foot-5, … [Read more...]
MiLB Notes: Seamus Curran, Grant Lavigne stage meeting of New England mashers
On Thursday, we featured Agawam, Mass., native Seamus Curran, who is beginning to come around at the plate after a few early struggles. This past Monday, Curran and company were closing out a series versus the Asheville Tourists (Colorado) when Bedford, N.H., product Grant Lavigne, ranked the … [Read more...]
Slugging prospect Seamus Curran hopeful health leads to bigger things
Seamus Curran cracked five home runs in his first 100 at-bats this season with the Delmarva (Md.) Shorebirds.For much of Seamus Curran’s career, he has played alongside and against more seasoned players. Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles out of Agawam (Mass.) High School in 2015, the 6-foot-6-inch … [Read more...]
Minor League Roundup: Conn.’s Kyle Wilcox gets going right in 2019
Kyle Wilcox, shown pitching in 2018 for the Clinton Lumber Kings. (Clinton Lumber Kings/MiLB)The first few weeks of the season don’t always go a long way in telling the big picture of a player’s season, but it can certainly help force an organization’s hand sooner rather than later. In his first … [Read more...]
West Roxbury’s Packy Naughton enjoying his next step at High-A
Packy Naughton (West Roxbury, Mass.) was a ninth-round pick out of Virginia Tech in 2017.Hailing from West Roxbury, Mass., and having attended Boston Latin School, a stone’s throw from Fenway Park, Packy Naughton was a diehard Red Sox fan growing up. So, when he was drafted out of Virginia Tech by … [Read more...]
