2007 Boise Hawks Roster Out

[TruffleShuffle]

I'm looking forward to this season from the Hawks, which starts in around a week. Some interesting players that were signed last year, and hopefully some 2007 draft picks joining them as well. Among the players I'm most interested in:

 

SP Chris Huseby (was he worth the late-first round money?)

SP Mark Pawelek (approaching washout status unless he really turns it around)

OF Drew Rundle (has he shortened his swing? intriguing athlete)

OF Sammy Baez (overaged for this level; needs to get moving)

OF Cliff Andersen (supposed to be a great defender; hopefully has a solid bat too - believe he was most expensive 9th round sign last year)

SP Larry Suarez (pitching here or in Arizona?)

C Josh Donaldson (assume he won't be a tough sign)

2B Tony Thomas (sorta like the pick... interesting to see if he can follow up on great junior season)

RP Casey Lambert (low ceiling, but probably will move up quickly)

 

 

Any others?

[Outshined_One]

Suarez probably will head to the DSL or VSL.

 

Andersen's battling some injury issues (back I think?) and probably won't be back at 100% until the end of the month at the latest.

 

If Vitters' bat is as good as advertised, there's a pretty good chance you'll see him in Boise this season.

[TruffleShuffle]

Suarez probably will head to the DSL or VSL.

 

Andersen's battling some injury issues (back I think?) and probably won't be back at 100% until the end of the month at the latest.

 

If Vitters' bat is as good as advertised, there's a pretty good chance you'll see him in Boise this season.

 

I'm wondering if he signs in time... plus I just guessed they'd send him to the AZL since it's a little closer to home and he's a high school player. I'd guess that if Marquez Smith signs fairly quickly, he'll be Boise's third baseman this year.

[Guest]

For now, it looks like Cliff Andersen will miss the beginning of the Boise season, he still hadn't started BP last week. I think one of Ty Wright/Clark Hardman/Brandon Guyer starts at Peoria, of course two of them are still playing in the CWS. I think Samson will be sent down to Boise from Daytona. The SP after Huseby and Pawelek are just shots in the dark, especially as to which 07 guys will pitch. Obviously a lot of this is predicated on who signs and a lot of these guys won't sign right away.

 

C Josh Donaldson/Steve Clevenger/Mario Mercedes

1B Marc Sawyer

2B Tony Thomas

SS Nate Samson/Darwin Barney

3B Jovan Rosa/Marquez Smith

OF Sammy Baez

CF Clark Hardman/Cliff Andersen

OF Brandon Guyer/Drew Rundle

 

SP Chris Huseby

SP Mark Pawelek

SP Al Alburquerque

SP James Russell

SP Arik Hempey

 

RP Casey Lambert

RP Brandon Taylor

RP Jordan Latham

RP Julio Castillo

 

ETA: Crap, forgot Mercedes at C. I could see Donaldson spending a lot of time at Mesa since he has mechanical things to work on.

[Guest]

There will be some interesting hitters at Mesa (Marwin Gonzalez, Gian Guzman, Nelson Perez, Josh Vitters) but the pitching will be where it's at again (Francisco Acosta, Alberto Cabrera, Wily Garcia, Kevin Kreier, Harol Tolentino, maybe Ryan Acosta and Larry Suarez).

[cuubs4life]

There will be some interesting hitters at Mesa (Marwin Gonzalez, Gian Guzman, Nelson Perez, Josh Vitters) but the pitching will be where it's at again (Francisco Acosta, Alberto Cabrera, Wily Garcia, Kevin Kreier, Harol Tolentino, maybe Ryan Acosta and Larry Suarez).

 

sounds like mesa should dominate.

[ChiefsVoice]

I think Samson will be sent down to Boise from Daytona.

 

Nope, Daytona to Peoria...

[Guest]

I think Samson will be sent down to Boise from Daytona.

 

Nope, Daytona to Peoria...

 

Cool, thanks Nate. I hope he can stick at Peoria, he hit pretty well in his short stay at Daytona and he obviously has a lot of talent

[Guest]

Hawks roster out: http://www.boisehawks.com/team/roster/

 

Mark Pawelek is NOT on the roster. 18-year olds Alberto Cabrera and Harol Tolentino are! :D Boise's pitching is loaded with high-ceiling potential (even moreso than Peoria to start the season): Huseby, Cabrera, Audy Santana, Tolentino, Al Alburquerque. Looks like Cliff Andersen is still hurt, Drew Rundle made the team. Sammy Baez is listed as an IF, Dylan Johnston was demoted to Boise and Nate Samson will replace him at Peoria. I'm a bit disappointed that Jovan Rosa isn't going to be at Boise, there's going to be a logjam of 3B at Mesa.

 

C: Mario Mercedes, Steve Clevenger

IF: Sammy Baez (I gotta think they didn't get the memo that he's an OF now), Dylan Johnston, Jose Made, Billy Mottram, Bill Moss, Marc Sawyer, Derek Schermerhorn

OF: Brian Leclert, Drew Rundle, Jonathan Wyatt

P: Al Alburquerque, Zach Ashwood, Alberto Cabrera, Chris Huseby, Casey Lambert, Jordan Latham, Andrew McCormick, Jon Mueller, Audy Santana, Dustin Sasser, Chris Siegfried, Harol Tolentino

 

I'd guess the rotation is Huseby, Cabrera, Tolentino, Alburquerque and Ashwood with Mueller or Lambert closing.

 

BoiseHawks.com[/url]"]Boise Hawks unveil roster - team arrives tomorrow

 

06/15/2007 9:12 AM - Boise, ID – The Chicago Cubs have assigned 25 players to the Boise Hawks, including Boise native Jordan Latham. Latham is a former pitcher for Centennial High School. He played last year for the College of Southern Idaho. He was selected by the Cubs in the 29th round of last year’s draft and signed with the club this spring.

 

Steven Clevenger, Mario Mercedes and Sammy Baez are also returning to the Hawks. Clevenger is making the switch from the infield to catcher this season. He hit .286 in 63 games last season. Mercedes will join him behind the plate. He hit .315 in 37 games for the Hawks in ’06. Baez hit .319 in just 19 games last year.

 

Tom Beyers, the 2004 NWL Manager of the Year, returns to skipper the club. He’ll be joined by Tom Pratt – pitching, and Franklin Font – hitting, on the coaching staff. Kelly Vanhove debuts as the club’s athletic trainer.

[Guest]

And the Idaho Statesman claims Mark Pawelek IS on the Boise roster. Wah?

 

The Idaho Statesman[/url]"]10:40 a.m. -- Boise Hawks release 2007 roster, head for Boise to prepare for Tuesday opener

Statesman staff - Idaho Statesman

Edition Date: 06/15/07

 

The Boise Hawks have 25 players on their initial roster for the 2007 season, the minor-league baseball club announced today. The team is scheduled to arrive in Boise on Saturday for three days of preparation at Memorial Stadium. The season opener is Tuesday against Salem. First pitch at Memorial Stadium is 7:15 p.m.

The parent-club Chicago Cubs have assigned the 25 players to Boise, including Boise native Jordan Latham. Latham is a former pitcher for Centennial High School. He played last year for the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. He was selected by the Cubs in the 29th round of last year’s draft and signed with the club this spring.

 

Former first-rounder Mark Pawelek is headed back to Boise. The left-handed pitcher went 3-5 last season with a 2.51 ERA.

 

Steven Clevenger, Mario Mercedes and Sammy Baez also return to Boise. Clevenger is making the switch from the infield to catcher this season. He hit .286 in 63 games last season. Mercedes will join him behind the plate. He hit .315 in 37 games for the Hawks in 2006. Baez, an infielder, hit .319 in 19 games last year.

 

The manager is Tom Beyers, the 2004 Northwest League Manager of the Year. He is joined by Tom Pratt (pitching) and Franklin Font (hitting) on the coaching staff.

 

The 2007 roster:

 

PITCHERS (13)

 

Al Albuquerque ®

 

Alberto Cabrera ®

 

Chris Huseby ®

 

Zach Ashwood (L)

 

Mark Pawelek (L)

 

Dustin Sasser (L)

 

Jordan Latham ®

 

Andrew McCormick ®

 

Jon Mueller ®

 

Audy Santana ®

 

Harol Tolentino (L)

 

Casey Lambert (L)

 

Chris Siegfried (L)

 

CATCHERS (2)

 

Steven Clevenger

 

Mario Mercedes

 

INFIELDERS (7)

 

Sammy Baez

 

Dylan Johnston

 

Jose Made

 

Bill Moss

 

Billy Mottram

 

Marc Sawyer

 

Derek Schermerhorn

 

OUTFIELDERS (3)

 

Drew Rundle

 

Jonathon Wyatt

 

Brian Leclerc

[Ding Dong Johnson]

carrying 13 pitchers must be the cool thing to do

[craig]

Thanks, Cal. These initial Boise rosters are obviously always very fluid. Lambert is the only draftee from the first ten rounds on that roster. that could change soon enough. Some of the guys who hadn't signed until this week could show up in a week or two.

 

Will be interesting to see whether Pawelek is or isn't there, if so whether he's in the rotation or not, and then of course whether he can actually get anybody out or actually has stuff to sustain interest.

 

There were three names that surprised me on that roster: Huseby, Cabrera, and Tolentino. I have tended to view Cabrera and Acosta as being comparable guys (about the same list size, similarities in stats last year), and Phil had comments suggesting that Tolentino was not in their class. So if two were going to make it, I'd assumed Acosta would beat Tolentino. Second, I thought they might have enough senior signs and late-round college leftover guys so that none of these 18-year-old dominicans would need to skip straight to Boise. Hopefully it suggests that Cabrera and Tolentino have made some progress.

 

But, it might also be that they are temps until some of the college pitchers sign and are ready, and Cabrera and/or Tolentino will be back at Mesa by the time they open.

 

A friend who saw Huseby in spring training said he looked really wild. I recall Az Phil reporting a game and Huseby was awful. So I'd anticipated that he was not doing so well and would be likely to repopen in Mesa. So I'm surprised to see him with Boise. Hopefully he's gotten things under control a bit, and he'll be up to it. We shall see.

[Guest]

Huseby has been up and down (and he was also hurt for a while) at extended spring training - but it seemed like his latter starts were better with improved control. According to AZ Phil, Francisco Acosta faded a bit after a strong initial showing at extended spring training, especially when compared to fellow 18-year olds Robert Hernandez and Alberto Cabrera, so it looks like Cabrera definitely is at the head of the short-season Latin American pitching pack. Tolentino at Boise is a bit of a surprise, especially given his control problems at extended spring training.

 

I do hope Cabrera and Huseby can stick in Boise when the college guys are signed. And that Cliff Andersen is at Boise when he's healed up. I do wonder how he and Rundle will handle short-season.

[Wrigley Rat]

Part of me thinks that Jon Mueller (who is at Daytona) is really John Muller - the 5th year senior we signed a month ago. What do you think?

[Guest]

Part of me thinks that Jon Mueller (who is at Daytona) is really John Muller - the 5th year senior we signed a month ago. What do you think?

 

No, it's the Jon Mueller who was at Daytona. Same DOB, same height/weight as his Daytona listings. But on the flip side, it's strange that he'd be double demoted and the Muller that you refer to would be perfect for Boise.

 

And MiLB.com now has Boise's roster up - it matches BoiseHawks.com with no Mark Pawelek (and with the Jon Mueller who used to be at Daytona).

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=480

[craig]

Curious with the Pawelek stuff. I wonder about his health. You'd think that if the Cubs or the Boise club told the Idaho Statesman about the team, and the story mentions Pawelek, it would seem likely that they listed him or mentioned him to the newspaper. So maybe he is there. Or maybe he's sort of going to be there when he's ready, but he's disabled or something? Beats me.

 

Thanks for your notes about spring training observations. What was Huseby's injury issues this spring? More arm problems, or what? Glad to hear he was looking somewhat better down the stretch.

 

In terms of draft picks and roster stuff, Guyer (?), the 1st day outfielder from Virginia, I think Wilken said that he's injured and won't play this summer. But that Wilken doesn't think the injury is anything serious long-term. So I don't expect him.

 

According to CubReporter, or whatever that's called, I believe Ty Wright has already signed. Could go straight to Peoria, I suppose, but my play for Boise.

[Guest]

Curious with the Pawelek stuff. I wonder about his health. You'd think that if the Cubs or the Boise club told the Idaho Statesman about the team, and the story mentions Pawelek, it would seem likely that they listed him or mentioned him to the newspaper. So maybe he is there. Or maybe he's sort of going to be there when he's ready, but he's disabled or something? Beats me.

 

Thanks for your notes about spring training observations. What was Huseby's injury issues this spring? More arm problems, or what? Glad to hear he was looking somewhat better down the stretch.

 

In terms of draft picks and roster stuff, Guyer (?), the 1st day outfielder from Virginia, I think Wilken said that he's injured and won't play this summer. But that Wilken doesn't think the injury is anything serious long-term. So I don't expect him.

 

According to CubReporter, or whatever that's called, I believe Ty Wright has already signed. Could go straight to Peoria, I suppose, but my play for Boise.

 

This Mark Pawelek stuff is something else.

 

ITI/CubsTalk has the exact same story as the Idaho Statesman (that Pawelek is on the team) and the byline says it's a press release from the Hawks itself. If you look at the Idaho Statesman/CubsTalk press release versus the BoiseHawks.com one, only one thing is different between them: the sentence about Mark Pawelek isn't in the BoiseHawks.com one but is in the other two. (This is the sentence: "Former first-rounder Mark Pawelek is headed back to Boise. The left-handed pitcher went 3-5 last season with a 2.51 ERA.") Maybe the Hawks had to pull the Pawelek portion out at the last moment and didn't have time to change the press release?

 

Here's the CubsTalk link: http://cubs.scout.com/2/652047.html

 

If I remember right, Huseby was just shut down for maybe a week in April with something shoulder-related. That might also explain his poor outings at the beginning of extended spring training with control problems (though I doubt it - he's a 19-year old hard thrower who had a few control lapses last season in the AZL).

[Guest]

Part of me thinks that Jon Mueller (who is at Daytona) is really John Muller - the 5th year senior we signed a month ago. What do you think?

 

BoiseHawks.com changed it today - good call, it is Jon Muller.

 

Craig, I asked AZ Phil and he said Mark Pawelek defintely isn't hurt.

[craig]

Craig, I asked AZ Phil and he said Mark Pawelek defintely isn't hurt.

 

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/89348.html

 

Pawelek is hurt after all. He broke his arm and is out for the season.

 

Rotation is Albuquerque, Andrew McCormick, Alberto Cabrera, Chris Huseby and left-hander Dustin Sasser.

 

So, looks like three non-prospect roster fillers in Albuquerque, McCormick, and Sasser. If there is going to be any jazz in that rotation as currently constituted, it will have to come from Cabrera and Huseby.

 

The Peoria reports didn't have Albuquerque throwing very hard, basically just average, he's had no K-stuff so nothing noteworthy for breaking stuff, and his results at Peoria were dismal. May do better at Boise, but looks to be a relatively low-ceiling roster filler.

[Outshined_One]

Pawelek is hurt after all. He broke his arm and is out for the season.

 

Ugggggggggggggh. What a disappointment.

[NCCubFan]

Pawelek is hurt after all. He broke his arm and is out for the season.

The article mentioned that he'd miss at least six weeks, so it sounds like he could still possibly salvage August. Hopefully the comment about him not returning to Boise means that he will get some time in Peoria as opposed to missing the rest of the season.

[Jon]

Four days before the Boise opener. Wonderful.

[Guest]

Well, crap.

[Laura]

I wonder how that happened.

[Guest]

By the way, I'm surprised McCormick made the rotation - esp over a guy like Ashwood.

 

ETA: Boise is playing a 5-inning scrimmage against a Boise collegiate summer league this evening as a tune-up for the season opener.