Boston College Athletics
Former Baseball Eagles In The Pros
July 10, 2009 | Baseball
July 10, 2009
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - As Major League Baseball's All-Star Break approaches, bceagles.com takes a look at the 17 former Eagles that are currently playing professional baseball.
Joe Martinez earned a spot on the San Francisco Giants opening day roster with his performance during spring training and the move paid off immediately for the club. Martinez picked up the 2009 Opening Day win out of the bullpen against Milwaukee on April 7.
His second outing was a different story, however, as he was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of the Brewers' Mike Cameron. Martinez was hospitalized for almost a week because of three small skull fractures and a concussion.
The Giants placed him on the 60-day disabled list and is working his way back to the Bigs through his rehab assignment. Martinez is currently hurling for San Francisco's AAA affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies. He tossed 5.0 innings in his first start there on July 5, allowing four earned runs. He has started four games in his rehab stint and has a 5.40 ERA through 15.0 innings.
Following his game with the Grizzlies, Martinez told the Fresno Bee, "Everyone always wants to know how does it feel? Are you scared? Honestly, it never crossed my mind before (about the possibility of getting hit by the ball). I never was really scared of the ball in the first place. I guess that's why I feel like I shouldn't be scared now. And I'm not."
Martinez is on his rehab assignment for 30 days before the Giants have to decide whether to keep him on the 25-man active roster or option him to the minors.
Chris Lambert spent some time in the Majors last season and is currently listed on the Detroit Tigers' 40-man roster. The former Eagle appeared in eight games on the hill last year and started three. He had a 5.66 ERA in 20.2 innings and got his first MLB win on September 7 vs. Minnesota.
Lambert has spent the entire 2009 season with the AAA Toledo Mud Hens. He is 3-6 with a 4.35 ERA, allowing 45 earned runs in 93.0 innings pitched.
Drew Locke and Matt Meyer have been excelling at the AA level for their respective organizations this season. Locke has been with the Corpus Christi Hooks, Houston's affiliate, all season and was named to the South All-Stars team in the Texas League. He is batting .324 with 17 doubles, 11 home runs, 76 RBI, 45 runs and an .863 OPS (on-base plus slugging).
Locke leads the Texas League with 76 RBI, which is 16 more than the second-place player (as of July 9). He also leads the league with 100 hits. The former Eagle is also third in total bases, sixth in batting and 13th in doubles.
Meyer has been stellar on the mound for both clubs he has played for this year. He started the year with the Class-A Advanced Kinston Indians and had a 2-1 record with a 3.49 ERA in 19 relief appearances. He was then promoted to the AA Akron Aeros, where he has a 1.80 ERA through 10 games and 10.0 innings.
Two other Eagles are also performing well at the AA level in Jason Delaney and Ryne Reynoso. Delaney is batting .253 with 15 doubles, three triples, five homers and 38 RBI for the Altoona Curve, the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate. Reynoso has started 16 games on the mound for the Mississippi Braves (Atlanta) and is 5-5 with a 3.40 ERA.
Four Boston College players were taken in the 2009 draft, highlighted by Tony Sanchez, who was the highest pick BC has had in the draft when the Pirates took him fourth overall. He was the second player in the draft to sign and he was quickly sent to the New-York Penn League for four games before being moved up to the Class-A West Virginia Power.
Sanchez is batting .348 in his six games with the Power with a double and six RBI. He recorded an RBI single in his West Virginia debut and also threw out two runners. In his professional debut with the State College Spikes, he drove in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth.
Mike Belfiore was also taken on the first night of the draft as he was selected with the 45th overall pick in Comp Round A by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was the fourth-highest overall pick for BC in the MLB Draft.
Belfiore has appeared in two games for the Missoula Osprey in Montana in the Rookie Pioneer League. After allowing two runs in his professional debut, he threw a scoreless inning in his second appearance, not allowing a hit and striking out a batter.
Barry Butera (21st round) and JB MacDonald (18th round) were both taken by Houston in the second day of the draft and are playing for the Class A Short Season Tri-City Valley Cats in Troy, N.Y.
Butera has appeared in 12 games and is batting .179, but has an on-base percentage of .343 and a .593 OPS. He has hit a double in his last two games and his first pro hit and run came on July 1 at Brooklyn.
MacDonald has a 1-0 record and a save with a 4.91 ERA in six appearances in relief. He has thrown 7.1 innings and struck out eight while walking just one. He has allowed four runs this season. His first win came on June 25 at Lowell.
Below is an update on how all 17 players are doing. To view a player's stats, click on his name. Links are also provided to the players' clubs, leagues and organizations.
