The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Catching up with former Longhorns in Major League Baseball
06.14.2007 | Baseball
With a handful of Longhorns set to make their professional debut next week, TexasSports.com looks to catch readers up on what the former UT standouts are doing in both the minor and major leagues.
As of June 14, six Longhorns have made major league appearances in 2007, including Roger Clemens, J.P. Howell, Omar Quintanilla, Stephen Randolph, Huston Street and Curtis Thigpen.
Clemens made his season debut with the New York Yankees last Sunday, posting his 349th career win in a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
J.P. Howell made his third start of the season for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday. He owns a 1-1 record with a 3.32 ERA. Prior to his promotion, Howell posted a 3-5 record, 3.96 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 63.2 innings for the Class AAA Durham Bulls.
Quintanilla has played in 14 games for the Colorado Rockies this season, logging five runs and two RBI. The shortstop is currently with Class AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox where he is hitting .333 with 18 runs, nine doubles and 16 RBI in 35 games.
Randolph made two appearances for the Houston Astros. He is now with the Class AAA Round Rock Express where he is anchoring the bullpen with a 6-0 record, 2.56 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
Street, currently on the disabled list, owns a 2-1 record and 2.50 ERA, with nine saves and 20 strikeouts in 18 innings this season for the Oakland Athletics.
Thigpen, the Toronto Blue Jays' top catcher prospect, made his major league debut as a starting first baseman on June 6. In six games with the Blue Jays, Thigpen has four hits in 10 at-bats. Prior to his promotion, he batted .299 with 17 runs, nine doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI in 44 games with the Class AAA Syracuse Chiefs.
Two Longhorns with major league experience are playing Class AAA baseball in hopes of making it back to their parent club in 2007. Brad Halsey, currently on the disabled list, is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA in three starts for the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland Athletics ­ Class AAA). Brandon Fahey has logged four doubles, four triples, two home runs, 19 RBI and nine stolen bases in 63 games as second baseman for the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles ­ Class AAA).
J. Brent Cox, on the roster of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (New York Yankees ­ Class AAA), had surgery in the offseason and is not expected to pitch in 2007.
Former Longhorns Dustin Majewski and Kyle Yates are having solid seasons for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays ­ Class AA). Majewski ranks sixth in the Eastern League with 16 doubles. He also has five home runs and 27 RBI in 56 games as an outfielder. Yates is 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 11 starts. His ERA ranks 10th in the Eastern League.
The Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles ­ Class AA) also boast a pair of former Horns ­ Beau Hale and Ryan Hubele. Hale is 5-3 with a 4.37 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 55.2 innings. Hubele has seven doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI in 41 games as Bowie's starting catcher.
Pitcher Danny Muegge began the season on the disabled list for the Jacksonville Suns (Los Angeles Dodgers ­ Class AA).
Sam LeCure is 5-0 with a 2.92 ERA and 41 strikeouts in eight starts between the Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds ­ Class AA) and the Sarasota Reds (Cincinnati Reds ­ Class A Advanced).
Infielder Robby Hudson and pitcher Kyle McCulloch are having solid seasons for the Winston-Salem Warthogs (Chicago White Sox ­ Class A Advanced). Hudson is batting .370 with three runs, two RBI and two stolen bases in 10 games. McCulloch is 4-5 with a 3.50 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 13 starts. He was tabbed Carolina League Pitcher of the Week on June 12.
Pitcher Matt Goodson, second baseman Seth Johnston, third baseman David Maroul and catcher Taylor Teagarden are prospering in the California League. Goodson has made 11 starts between the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox ­ Class AA) and the Cal's Lancaster JetHawks (Boston Red Sox ­ Class A Advanced). Johnston ranks 10th in the California League with a .317 batting average. He has logged 26 runs, eight doubles, four home runs and 23 RBI in 43 games for the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres ­ Class A Advanced). Maroul ranks ninth in the league in home runs (11) and 11th in doubles (16) for the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants ­ Class A Advanced). Teagarden leads the California League with a .627 slugging percentage and ranks ninth with a .320 batting average. He has 41 runs, 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 34 RBI for the Bakersfield Blaze (Texas Rangers ­ Class A Advanced).
Outfielder Drew Stubbs is hitting .252 with team highs in runs (44) and stolen bases (13) for the Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds ­ Class A).
Texas exes Kip Harkrider, J.D. Reininger and Gerrit Simpson are playing in independent leagues. Harkrider and Reininger are playing in the American Association, with Harkrider logging six runs and nine RBI in 24 games for the Fort Worth Cats and Reininger posting seven doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI for the Pensacola Pelicans. Simpson has started five games on the mound for the Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks of the Northern League.
Longhorns expected to make their professional debuts in the next few weeks include Adrian Alaniz (Washington Nationals), Randy Boone (Toronto Blue Jays), Chais Fuller (Atlanta Braves), Joseph Krebs (Cincinnati Reds), Brett Lewis (Boston Red Sox), Nick Peoples (St. Louis Cardinals) and Chance Wheeless (Arizona Diamondbacks). Junior James Russell and sophomores Preston Clark, Kyle Russell and Bradley Suttle have yet to reach a decision. With Chais Fuller and Brett Lewis slated to sign pro contracts on Friday, every UT player on the 2007 roster who was draft-eligible was either selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft or will free agent contracts with major league clubs.