Stanford rehabbing; Phillips in All-Star game

Stanford rehabbing; Phillips in All-Star game
Four former Barton County Community College baseball team are still making their way in professional baseball and all four are currently progressing and pitching very well. One is rehabbing as he prepares to come back from surgery and pitch in the major leagues. Another is preparing for a minor league All-Star contest, where he is among the top pitchers in the league. Two more former Cougars are currently just one step away from the majors, playing AAA baseball, one of them is also on a rehab stint.

Jason Stanford's recovery from Tommy John surgery is just about complete. After going under the knife early last season, the rehab has been a long one. But Stanford, a starting left-hander for the Cleveland Indians when he had the surgery, is now pitching again in rehab work with the Indians AA Akron team. In his last outing Sunday night, Stanford pitched a pair of innings in relief and allowed just a single hit as his ERA dipped to 1.42. Stanford has now thrown in 7 games totaling 12 2/3 innings. During that time he has allowed just 2 earned runs with 11 strikeouts and just 4 walks. Stanford may be called up to the Indians in September to pitch from the bullpen but the long range outlook for the Indians is for him to return to the starting rotation next season.

Ryan Phillips is having a great season for the Lowell Spinners – a rookie league farm team for the Boston Red Sox. Phillips – an 11th round pick in 2004 by the Red Sox – was voted to play in the New York-Penn League All-Star game tonight. Phillips is currently 6-1 for the Spinners with a 1.99 ERA in 11 starts. In his 54 1/3 innings of work, the lefty has given up just 39 hits while striking out 48 and walking just 21. Opponents are batting less than .200 against him. His 1.99 ERA is 5th in the New York-Penn League. He is also 3rd in wins and 20th in strikeouts among the New York-Penn League players.

Nate Field is working his was back from an injury to his middle finger on his pitching hand. Field, throwing for the Kansas City Royals' AAA affiliate Omaha, struggled early but is picking up his performance as of late. Field threw a scoreless inning Monday night, allowing a single hit out of the bull pen. That runs his scoreless stretch to 3 1/3 innings, dropping his ERA from 7.71 to 6.23 as his finger progresses.

Sanders is also pitching well at AAA Charlotte for the Chicago White Sox. Sanders has a 3.00 ERA for the Knights, with a 4-2 mark in 54 relief appearances this season. In his last outing Sunday night, Sanders went 1 1/3 innings in relief, striking out 3 of the 4 batters he faced to pick up the win.