There are 51 Southern Arizonans playing in the minor leagues. Here’s a look at how some of them fared over the past week.
Three up
Joey Rickard, LF, Durham Bulls (Rays’ Triple-A affiliate)
Rickard was called up to Triple-A Durham on Aug. 2 after batting .322 this season with Double-A Montgomery. He hit safely in his first five games with the Bulls, topped off by a four-hit performance Friday. Rickard is the fourth member of UA’s 2012 National Championship team to reach the Triple-A level.
Steve Naemark, LHP, Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros’ Single-A affiliate)
The Mountain View High School grad made his Single-A debut Wednesday, tossing a scoreless inning of relief against Bowling Green. Naemark’s promotion to Quad Cities comes after posting a 1.54 ERA in nine outings with Low-A Tri-City. He’s pitched at three different levels since being drafted by the Astros in June.
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Stephan Meyer, RHP, Gulf Coast League Pirates (Pirates’ Rookie affiliate)
The former Ironwood Ridge Nighthawk earned two wins this week during a pair of scoreless outings for the Pirates’ rookie affiliate. He also struck out five batters and scattered two hits in a combined three innings of work. Meyer joined the Gulf Coast League on Wednesday, after appearing in one game for Low-A West Virginia.
Three down
Preston Guilmet, RHP, Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate)
Guilmet was sent down to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday after allowing six runs in two games for Milwaukee. The Brewers had claimed the reliever off waivers on July 31 from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Guilmet is the first UA alum to play for Colorado Springs since outfielder Chris Frey in 2010.
Javier Medina, RHP, Grand Junction Rockies (Rockies’ Rookie affiliate)
The Sahuaro High School product was charged with his second straight loss Friday, allowing 10 earned runs in 2ª innings to Missoula. Medina surrendered eight hits during his outing, including four for extra bases. He did record three strikeouts to raise his season total to 14 in 13ª innings.
Alan Garcia, OF, Arizona League Padres (Padres’ Rookie affiliate)
The ex-Nogales Apache struck out nine times this week, including back-to-back games with three strikeouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. The struggles at the plate were uncharacteristic compared to the rest of his season, as he entered the week batting .375 with nine RBIs and five doubles.
The big number
20
Wins in Kurt Heyer’s professional career, after the former Wildcat ace won two games this week for Double-A Springfield. Heyer owns a 6-1 record between two levels this year, which is his first season being used as a full-time relief pitcher.
Coming up
- Monday:
- Xavier Altamirano
- will begin his eighth week of professional baseball with a game against the Arizona League Angels at Fitch Park in Mesa. The Douglas High School alum recorded a save in his last outing Wednesday for the AZL Athletics. Altamirano also has a 2.53 ERA and 12 strikeouts this season.
He said it
“We’d like to say that (Brandon) Dixon put together a quintessential California League week, but even by the circuit’s standards, this was rather incredible.”
— Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com wrote Monday about the former Wildcat, who was named the California League’s Player of the Week for the period of July 27-Aug. 2. Dixon followed up his six home run week by recording six hits this week, including one homer. He had his 10-game hit streak to come to an end Saturday against Stockton.
