Boilermakers in Pro Ball / Summer League Links
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball alumnus Kevin Plawecki has returned to the big leagues as a September call-up of the New York Mets, rejoining the defending National League champions as they look to return to the postseason.
Plawecki (2010-12) had been playing for the Las Vegas 51s since being optioned to Triple-A in late June. After being on the postseason roster last year, he began the new season with the Mets but was sent down when Travis d'Arnaud was activated from the disabled list. Plawecki is the only other catcher currently on the Mets' 40-man roster, making him a no-brainer call-up as MLB rosters expanded Sept. 1. He batted .300 with 19 extra-base hits and 40 RBI in 55 games for Las Vegas.
New York (69-64) has won eight of its last 10 games to reemerge in the NL playoff race. The Mets entered the month of September only 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second wild card. They passed Nick Wittgren and the Miami Marlins (67-66) this week by winning the first three games of a four-game set between the two teams in Queens. The finale of the series is tonight at 7 p.m. Plawecki and Wittgren were also both on the big league rosters when the Mets won two of three in Miami the weekend of June 3 to 5, but Wittgren did not pitch in the series.
With Wittgren (2011-12) earning more opportunities as the season progressed, Miami entered the month of August with a 57-48 record and in possession of the second wild card berth. But a 10-18 record in August hurt the Marlins' playoff chances. He pitched in 14 games in August but was not as effective as he was in July (1.32 ERA, 0.73 WHIP in 11 appearances). A full-time big leaguer since late May, Wittgren has appeared in 42 games in his rookie season, compiling a 1.04 WHIP and striking out 40 in 48 innings pitched.
Plawecki and the Mets begin a three-game series in Cincinnati on Labor Day and visit Miami the final week of the season (Sept. 26-28). New York is 10-5 vs. the Marlins this year. The Mets have six games remaining with the NL East-leading Nationals but their September schedule is otherwise very favorable, with a combined 12 games against the last-place Reds (3), Braves (6) and Twins (3). Miami also has two series left against both the Nationals (6 games) and Braves (7), but has to play division leaders Cleveland and Los Angeles a combined six times as well.
Meanwhile, fellow alumnus Jordan Comadena (2005-08) remains a bullpen catcher for Pittsburgh Pirates' home games at PNC Park. The Pirates got back in the wild card race with a 5-1 West Coast road trip in mid-August and a recent four-game sweep in Milwaukee. They have six games remaining with the Cardinals and therefore a little bit more control of their own destiny as they chase a fourth straight wild card berth.
ALUMNI ON PLAYOFF-BOUND TEAMS
Alumni Cameron Perkins (2010-12), Shane Bryant (2015-16) and Jeff Isom (1991-93) will be part of the postseason with their teams this year. Perkins' Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies affiliate) enter the month of September needing only one victory to earn a wild card berth in the Triple-A International League. He's not on Philadelphia's 40-man roster unfortunately so a September call-up for the three-time MiLB all-star is unlikely. But he's had a solid season for Lehigh Valley, batting .290 with 32 extra-base hits in 113 games while playing center field for an extended stretch for the first time as a professional. Perkins is a .280 career hitter while playing in over 500 career MiLB games since 2012.
Bryant (starting pitcher) and Isom (manager) helped the Joliet Slammers win the independent Frontier League's Eastern Division. Bryant has made 12 starts since signing with Joliet in June, working at least six innings in eight of the 12 outings (all quality starts). He has compiled a 1.37 WHIP while striking out 48 over 69 1/3 innings. The Slammers (50-42) will play the Evansville Otters (53-38) in the divisional round of the Frontier League playoffs, with the five-game series getting underway Sept. 6 in Evansville. As division champs, Joliet will have home-field advantage and host games three, four and five.
Perkins and Lehigh Valley (82-56) have the second-best record in the 14-team International League but trail Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (86-52, Yankees affiliate) in the North Division. Unfortunately, as the wild card, the Iron Pigs will play Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the best-of-five opening round of the International League Playoffs, which begin Sept. 7.
Jordan Minch (2013-14) was also part of an MiLB playoff qualifier in the High-A Carolina League this year. He was one of the top relievers for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs affiliate) over the first half of the season and had not been charged with a run in 15 consecutive appearances dating back to May 25 when he suffered a grade 2 lat strain July 11 that will keep him sidelined through the end of the season. He finished the year with a 2.88 ERA in 29 appearances.
SUMMER LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Returning Boilermakers Nick Dalesandro, Alex Lyons and Jacson McGowan helped their summer league teams qualify for the playoffs this year. Dalesandro's Harwich Mariners won the East Division of the Cape Cod League but lost an opening-round series to Chatham, two games to one. Dalesandro connected for a grand slam in Harwich's playoff victory. New Purdue assistant coach Jack Marder was an assistant for the Falmouth Commodores this summer, helping Falmouth reach the CCBL's championship series.
After joining the team at the midpoint of the summer, Lyons pitched in six games for the Madison Mallards to help them qualify for the Northwoods League playoffs. And it was McGowan's Wisconsin Rapids Rafters team that won the Northwoods title. He batted .304 while playing in 25 games, heading home for the rest of the summer in mid-July. The Rafters won both the first- and second-half South Division titles. New Boilermaker Gareth Stroh, a transfer from Coffeyville College in Kansas, was a key starting pitcher for Wisconsin Rapids' championship team as well, recording 61 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings to go along with a 3.50 ERA. He fanned six over 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball in a win against Eau Claire in the opening game of the Summer Collegiate World Series.
MORE SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS
- Matt Frawley (2014-16) worked three innings of one-hit relief in his debut for the West Virginia Power (Pirates affiliate) of the Class A South Atlantic on Aug. 31. He compiled a .234 batting average against and struck out 33 in 28 innings for the West Virginia Black Bears before being promoted.
- Brad Schreiber (2010-13) was also promoted for the final week of the MiLB season. He made two appearances with the Triple-A Durham Bulls (Rays affiliate) over Labor Day Weekend, working two scoreless innings in his team debut.
- Evan Kennedy was named a Prospect League postseason all-star at first base for the Lafayette Aviators. He batted .276 with 19 extra-base hits, 42 walks and a .411 on-base percentage, finishing the summer on an eight-game hit streak. Evan Warden was a consistent two-way contributor for the Aviators as well, recording 18 extra-base hits, 30 RBI and 29 walks at the plate and six wins, four saves, a 3.20 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 17 appearances on the mound. Jacob Preston (1.32 WHIP, 3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 IP) also pitched for Lafayette over the second half of the summer.
- Adam Dressler capped his second summer with the Kenosha Kingfish of the Northwoods League with his best outing. He surrendered just one unearned run and did not walk a batter over seven innings against the Wisconsin Woodchucks on Aug. 13. Dressler pitched 54 2/3 innings over 15 appearances this summer.
- Kyle Johnson (2013-16) has enjoyed a successful summer while making the transition to full-time pitcher for the Gulf Coast League Yankees. He has surrendered only one earned run and five hits while striking out 13 over 15 innings of relief.
- Kevin Plawecki hit a grand slam in his final home game of the season for the Las Vegas 51s on Aug. 26.
- Dan Sattler (2004-07) has made six starts for the New Britain Bees since returning to the independent Atlantic League in early August. He earned victories vs. Long Island (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K) and Sugar Land (6 IP, 4 H, 3 R) with quality starts and has amassed 28 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.
- Kyle Wood (2013-16) is currently riding a 10-game reached base safely streak for the Windy City Thunderbolts of the independent Frontier League. He's 10-for-31 with 10 RBI and 7 walks during the streak, homering twice. He walked and singled against Shane Bryant in an Aug. 25 game against the Joliet Slammers, but Bryant got the last laugh by striking out Wood in the top of the sixth en route to finishing off a seven-inning complete game.
- Josh Lindblom (2007-08) struck out 12 over six innings of one-run ball Aug. 4 in his best start of the season for the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization. Lindblom has been a workhorse yet again, pitching 139 innings over 24 starts during his second season in Korea.