Saturday, February 04, 2012

Where do they go from here?

Baseball will continue beyond the conclusion of the Australian Baseball League season.

With Spring Training just around the corner in America, a number of Brisbane Bandits will be making the trip overseas to keep playing the game.

Looking to impress in the Cactus League in Arizona will be Ryan Battaglia, Andrew Campbell, Mitch Nilsson and Ryan Searle. The 22-year-old pitcher will be heading to Chicago Cubs camp, while the three position players are all affiliated with the Cleveland Indians.

Searle is heading into his fifth season in the Cubs minor league system. The right-hander finished the last North American summer with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies of the Southern League, going 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA. He threw 84 2/3 innings with 11 starts in 23 games for Tennessee, and is hoping to secure a spot in the starting rotation out of the spring.

The three Cleveland prospects all spent time with the Arizona League Indians last season and are looking to move up this year. Nilsson impressed in rookie ball, hitting .358/.419/.507 with a home run and 10 runs driven in through 21 games last year. Campbell appeared in 29 games for the Indians, notching two doubles, a triple, six RBI and five stolen bases. Battaglia spent only one game in the Arizona League before moving to the New York-Penn League for a short time, and his playing time will likely be significantly increased this season.

Heading to the Grapefruit League in Florida are four Brisbane Bandits players, along with manager Kevin Jordan. Josh Warner and Alan Schoenberger will join Jordan in the Philadelphia Phillies organisation, while Justin Erasmus will be in Boston Red Sox camp and Rory Rhodes heads to the Minnesota Twins.

Jordan will be a part of the coaching staff for the Gulf Coast League Phillies this upcoming season, the same team Warner played for last year. The 19-year-old started 10 games for the Phillies during the previous season, and had 12 appearances in total, notching 48 strikeouts and walking only 12 batters through his 54 2/3 innings pitched. With five years of minor league service time already under his belt, Schoenberger will be looking to continue to move up on the farm. The 23-year-old was last with the Lakewood Blue Claws in the South Atlantic League.

Erasmus has played two seasons of rookie ball for the GCL Red Sox and he also spent last year in the South Atlantic League, playing for the Greenville Drive in short-season A ball. The 21-year old has found success at each level, with a combined 1.68 ERA in 96 2/3 innings over the three seasons. In his second year, Erasmus led both the league and short-season ball in saves.

Rhodes batted .261/.363/.389 in rookie ball last year, after tearing up the Gulf Coast League in 2010. In his second GCL season, Rhodes hit .319/.410/.407 in 27 games for the Twins, earning him the promotion to Elizabethton. He will look to move further up the Twins ladder in March, hoping to get a chance to play for the Class A Beloit Snappers next.

Also heading to the United States will be Steven Chambers, after spending his last off-season in the Czech Extraleague playing for the Technika Brno. The 21-year-old right-hander is off to New Mexico to play in the Pecos League.

Going overseas to Europe will be Chris Mowday and Daniel Lamb-Hunt. Mowday is likely headed to the Netherlands while Lamb-Hunt is looking to win his third consecutive batting title in Germany.

Leaving Australia but not quite sure yet where they might play during the upcoming season will be Brisbane’s Italian ace Alex Maestri, along with American imports Jon Durket and Sean Jarrett. Prior to playing for the Bandits, Maestri was last with the Lincoln Saltdogs in the American Association. Durket spent the previous North American season with the White Sands Pupfish, the team Chambers is headed to. Jarrett came to Australia from the Atlantic League, playing for the Camden Riversharks last.

All of the other Bandits will continue to play A-grade baseball for their respective local clubs until the league comes to an end. Brisbane will welcome back many of these baseballers next season, with more accumulated time under their belts. 

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