NewsMovin' On Up: Giants' Posey gets a peek
Blue-chip catching prospect sees first game action since call-up
By Lisa Winston / MLB.com
09/18/09 10:43 AM ET
The ultimate goal for every Minor Leaguer is to reach the Major Leagues. Every week, Movin' On Up will take a look at prospects who have reached that goal and made their big league debut.
With their respective teams fighting for what appears to be the lone remaining playoff spot, San Francisco Giants catching prospect Buster Posey and Colorado Rockies right-hander Esmil Rogers certainly had more on their minds during their big league debuts than pure performance butterflies.
Both were among their club's relatively small number of post-Sept. 1 call-ups, promotions that appeared to be more selective and made specifically to improve each team's shot at the National League Wild Card -- or even, perhaps, the NL West title.
Posey, the team's top pick in 2008 out of Florida State who is widely regarded as the best catching prospect in the Minors since the promotion of Baltimore's Matt Wieters, might not even have gotten the call had starter Bengie Molina not missed some time with a strained quad, prompting the Giants to rethink the possibility of having Posey around as an insurance plan.
After hitting a combined .325 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs in his first full season between Class A Advanced San Jose and Triple-A Fresno, he finally got his first at-bat Sept. 11 in a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers when he came on as a late defensive insertion and struck out in his lone plate appearance.
In fact, he may not see any regular action until the Giants' October plans are finalized one way or the other, much the way now-Cleveland catching prospect Lou Marson did with the Phillies for all of September and October in 2008. But he's getting to know his way around a big league clubhouse, someplace he will undoubtedly be for good in the near future.
"Buster's the best catcher in our system," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We needed some help. We felt at this time this would give us more coverage, a little more depth."
Meanwhile, the Rockies -- who had already made a preemptive post-season promotion when they brought up speedy infielder/outfielder Eric Young Jr. earlier -- added to that trend by summoning right-handed Esmil Rogers from Triple-A Colorado Springs for a surprise start.
Rogers -- who had combined for a 4.41 ERA between Double-A Tulsa (8-2, 2.48 with Texas League All-Star honors) and Colorado Springs -- was limited to 80 pitches in his debut after throwing 155 innings this season, but did well and gave the rotation a much-needed rest in his Sept. 12 debut, allowing two runs on three hits in four innings. His role the rest of the season is still to be determined.
The following players also made their Major League debuts through Sept. 17:
John Axford, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
CALLED UP: Promoted from Triple-A Nashville when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 15 in a 13-7 loss to the Cubs. The last of five pitchers, he allowed a run on one hit and three walks in one inning, striking out one.
NOTES: The 6-foot-5 Canadian combined at three levels to go 9-1 with a 2.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings of relief. Signed out of Canisius College in upstate New York, he spent his first pro season in the Yankees organization in 2007 before coming over to the Brewers last year.
Brent Dlugach, SS, Detroit Tigers
CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Triple-A Toledo when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 13 in a 7-2 win against Toronto. Pinch-running for Aubrey Huff in the eighth inning, he scored but did not come to bat.
NOTES: A sixth-round pick in 2004 out of Arkansas, Dlugach hit .294 with nine homers and 59 RBIs at Toledo before his call-up. Though he missed nearly all of 2007-08 due to injuries, he made up for lost time with a hot bat down the stretch this season, hitting .311 in July and .314 in August.
Luis Durango, OF, San Diego Padres
CALLED UP: Promoted from Double-A San Antonio when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 15 in a 4-2 loss to Arizona. Pinch-hitting for RHP Luke Gregerson in the eighth inning, he was thrown out on a bunt attempt.
NOTES: The speedy Durango may have flown under the prospect radar since signing out of his native Panama in 2003, though he did represent his home country in the World Baseball Classic. This year he batted .281 in 129 games at San Antonio and led his team with 44 steals, second in the Texas League. He's batted .320 in his pro career so far. In his first big-league start the night after his debut, he showed his stuff, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a steal as the left fielder.
Juan Francisco, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
CALLED UP: Promoted from Triple-A Louisville when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 14 in a 3-1 win against Houston. Pinch-hitting for Darnell McDonald in the seventh inning, he struck out.
NOTES: The Reds' top power prospect hit .295 with 27 homers and 93 RBIs between Double-A Carolina and Louisville before his promotion, leading the system in those categories while posting a .518 slugging percentage. The left-handed hitter batted .359 in 22 games at Triple-A before coming to the bigs.
Adam Moore, C, Seattle Mariners
CALLED UP: Promoted from Triple-A Tacoma when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 17 in a 4-3, 14-inning win against the White Sox. The starting catcher, he batted ninth and went 0-for-5.
NOTES: Moore hit .294 with nine homers, 43 RBIs and 19 doubles for Tacoma and was named the Rainiers' Player of the Year. He really got on the Mariners' prospect map in 2007, when he hit .307 with 22 homers and 102 RBIs at Class A Advanced High Desert, then batted .319 with 14 homers, 71 RBIs and 34 doubles at Double-A West Tenn last summer. He was a sixth-round pick in 2006 out of Texas-Arlington and has hit a combined .301 over four Minor League seasons.
Chris Pettit, OF, Los Angeles Angels
CALLED UP: Promoted from Triple-A Salt Lake when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 11 in a 7-1 win against the Chicago White Sox. Pinch-ran for Vladimir Guerrero in the eighth inning and scored.
NOTES: After losing much of 2008 to a broken foot suffered opening night, Pettit showed that his '07 stats -- when he hit .326 with 18 homers, 95 RBIs and 30 steals between two Class A stops -- were the real deal as he hit .321 with eight home runs and 58 RBIs in 96 games for the Bees this season. He was drafted by the Angels in the 19th round of 2006 out of Loyola Marymount
Kyle Phillips, 1B/C, Toronto Blue Jays
CALLED UP: Promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 14 in a 6-5, 10-inning loss to Detroit. The starting catcher, he batted eighth and went 1-for-4.
NOTES: Phillips was hitting .300 with eight homers and 29 RBIs when he was added to the Jays roster. This season also marked the Triple-A debut for the eight-year veteran, who was originally drafted in the 10th round by Minnesota and joined the Jays organization in 2007. He began this season at Double-A New Hampshire, where he'd spent also 2008, before joining Las Vegas in late April.
Cesar Ramos, LHP, San Diego Padres
CALLED UP: Promoted from Triple-A Portland when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 16 in a 6-5, 10-inning win against Arizona. The eighth of nine pitchers, he allowed two hits in one scoreless inning, striking out one.
NOTES: The 2005 first-rounder out of Long Beach State finally reached the Majors after an injury-stalled process. This season he went 6-7 with a 3.56 ERA between rehab outings at rookie-level Arizona and Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore along with Portland. He's posted a 4.12 ERA over 115 Minor League games in five years.
Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
