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Of the 23 alumni of independent leagues who began the season in Major League Baseball, ten came from American Association clubs, while another three formerly played in the Can-Am League, the AA’s sister league. American Association Players Aaron Crow, Kansas City (Fort Worth 2008-09) Dane De La Rosa, L.A. Angels (El Paso 2009) Luke Hochevar,...Read More

Independent Baseball Insider – Vol. 12, No. 5,   April 3, 2014 By Bob Wirz Seeing two former players (Ian Thomas and Brandon Kintzler) in the major leagues would make any manager feel pretty good, but Winnipeg Goldeyes skipper Rick Forney is very happy for other reasons, in addition to watching his four children grow. “I...Read More

By Scott Taylor, Winnipeg Goldeyes Former Winnipeg Goldeyes lefthander Ian Thomas has been named to the Atlanta Braves’ 25-man roster. He becomes the ninth former Goldeyes player to reach the Major Leagues. It is an incredible feat for the 26-year-old graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, who showed up at Braves spring training in February as...Read More

Arlington, Texas – On Wednesday, the Texas Rangers announced that RHP Tanner Scheppers will be the team’s opening-day starter on Monday, March 31, when the club takes on the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Park. After a standout college career at Fresno State, Scheppers pitched for the American Association’s St. Paul Saints in 2009, going...Read More

Independent Baseball Insider,  Vol. 12, No. 4,  March 27, 2014 – by Bob Wirz “I’ve got Day 1 and Day 2”. Those were the words of a happy Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Bo Schultz this week.  It seems many more will follow for the 28-year-old, who is quite certain he would never have gotten any major...Read More

Independent Baseball Insider – by Bob Wirz Two players in Independent leagues as recently as last season are the most recent minor leaguers we have noticed who have appeared in major league exhibitions this spring. Right-hander Cody Satterwhite, who posted a 0.65 earned run average and struck out more than a batter per inning in...Read More

Independent Baseball Insider – Vol. 12, No. 3,  March 20, 2014 By Bob Wirz The stars all seem aligned perfectly for C. J. Ziegler as last year’s power king tries to become another Independent Baseball product to pull on a major league baseball uniform.  It probably will not come as early as this year, but...Read More

By Scott Taylor, Winnipeg Goldeyes Former Winnipeg Goldeyes lefthander Ian Thomas is on the verge of winning a spot in the Atlanta Braves bullpen. After a scintillating performance against the Washington Nationals on Thursday, Thomas suddenly moved to the top of the list of the three left-handers remaining in the chase for the final specialist’s job...Read More

Independent Baseball Insider – by Bob Wirz Southpaw Nate Robertson finally got a job, and it is back with the organization where he first set foot on a major league mound. The Detroit Tigers have inked Robertson to a Triple-A contract 11 years after he broke in with the parent club at age 25. Robertson,...Read More

Independent Baseball Insider by Bob Wirz – Vol. 12, No. 2,   March 13, 2014            Southpaw James Paxton (Grand Prairie 2010) would certainly be on the short list if I was to try to assess the “positives” coming out of major league spring training camps so far, although his success for Seattle makes him...Read More