NEWS

By David Driver
August 25, 2009
From The Driver's Seat Blog on ExploreHoward.com

[Editor's note: Scott Krieger played for Youse's Orioles in 2006. Kibler, Baines, Hoehn, Johnson, Casario, Squatrito, and Bumbry -- all listed below -- have also played in the Ripken, Sr. League]

Scott Krieger, the all-time home run leader at Division I George Mason University, was not drafted after his junior year in 2008, even though he hit .381 with 21 homers and 60 RBIs for the Patriots. That means, presumably, that more than 1,000 players were deemed better pro prospects than the Calvert Hall graduate.

“Not being drafted was obviously disappointing. Once I was able to get over that, I could focus on school,” said Krieger, a Towson native who plans to attend the fall semester at George Mason and finish his degree in finance.

More than a year later, Krieger seems to be proving teams were wrong about him last season. Drafted in the 19th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in June, the outfielder hit three homers in the fifth game of his pro career for the Helena (Mont.) Brewers in the rookie Pioneer League. He had 12 homers, 13 doubles and 47 RBIs and batted .252 in his first 222 at-bats, with 84 strikeouts. The right-handed hitter, who is listed at 6 feet, 215 pounds, has a slugging percentage of .491.

Krieger, 22, was signed by Brewers scout Dan Nellum, who is based in Crofton in Anne Arundel County. One of Krieger’s teammates earlier this season was Baltimore native Derrick McPhearson, an outfielder who played at the University of Illinois and is now in the low Single-A Midwest League. Krieger hit .373 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs this past spring at George Mason, which claimed an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. After a torrid start, Krieger has slowed some, but has still posted impressive numbers in his first year at the pro level.

“It has its ups and downs. At first it was a smooth transition,” Krieger said. “We tried to change a few things for the better, which I agreed with. It put me in a slump, and I am trying to come out of it. The biggest thing is playing every day.” The 76-game regular season in the Pioneer League ends Sept. 11.

Billy Brown, the longtime head coach at George Mason, noted that Krieger was hurt the summer after his sophomore year and saw little playing time in the Coastal Plain League based in North Carolina. That prevented scouts from seeing him use a wooden bat for an entire summer going into his junior year at Mason.

“The question is always, will his power translate from college to the pros,” Brown told me this week. “He answered that question right away. The other question was where would he play.” Most likely that will be left field, right field or first base. “Those are power positions,” Brown said.

Other Calvert Hall grads playing pro ball include pitcher Jon Kibler, who is with Double-A Erie of the Eastern League in the Detroit farm system. He played in college at Michigan State. Kibler was 6-8 with a 4.17 ERA in his first 24 starts this season for Erie. Also, Tim Sexton is a pitcher in the Dodgers’ chain. He was 8-12, 3.44 in his first 24 games (20 starts) for the Inland Empire 66ers in the California League. His teammate earlier this season was Steve Johnson (St. Paul’s), now with Bowie in the Orioles’ chain.

Other players with ties to Maryland who have made their pro debuts this year include:

* Harold Baines Jr., drafted in June out of Division III McDaniel College of Carroll County in the 45th round, is with the Bristol (Va.) White Sox in the rookie Appalachian League. He hit .134 in his first 67 at-bats at Bristol. He is the son of former Oriole and White Sox star Harold Baines.

*A.J. Casario, also drafted by the White Sox in June, is also with Bristol and is also finding the adjustment to hitting at the pro level a challenge. He hit .186 in his first 86 at-bats. He was taken out of the University of Maryland in the 38th round in June.

* Outfielder Anthony Howard, drafted out of Quince Orchard High in Montgomery County, is with the Royals in the Arizona League. He was drafted in the 47th round by Kansas City and hit .190 in his first 84 at-bats in the minors.

* Cody Holliday is a right fielder in the Gulf Coast League with the Mets. He is from Havre de Grace and played in college at Wilmington in Delaware. He hit .175 in his first 40 pro at-bats. He was taken in the 18th round by the Mets.

* Connor Hoehn, who is from Montgomery County, is with the Vancouver Canadians in the Northwest League. He was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 12th round and was 0-1, 1.38 with three saves in his first 10 games. Hoehn was drafted out of St. Petersburg Junior College, which also produced Oriole prospect Pedro Beato of Bowie and Nationals minor leaguer Steve Lombardozzi, a graduate of Atholton High.

* Chad Jenkins was drafted in the 17th round by the Nationals out of Cecil Community College. He has played this summer in the Gulf Coast League and with Vermont in the New York-Penn League. Jenkins was 0-1, 5.64 in six games with Vermont and 0-1, 4.22 in four games in the Gulf Coast League.

* Josh Squatrito, drafted out of Towson University by the Cardinals in the 25th round, is 2-1, 1.64 in 16 games with Batavia in the New York-Penn League. He threw two scoreless innings Aug. 20 at Aberdeen, with four strikeouts.

* Left-handed pitcher Brian Moran, whose uncle is former Oriole B.J. Surhoff, was drafted by Seattle in the seventh round out of the University of North Carolina. He is with low Single-A Clinton in the Midwest League and was 0-2, 3.38 in his first nine games in the minors.

* James Gulliver, the son of former Oriole Glenn Gulliver, is with the Oneonta (N.Y.) Tigers of the New York-Penn League. He was drafted in the 20th round by Detroit. He hit .197 in his first 122 at-bats.

* Steve Bumbry (Dulaney High) hit .223 in his first 94 at-bats with Aberdeen. He was taken by the Orioles out of Virginia Tech in the 12th round.

* Mike Flacco (Catonsville Community Collge) hit .270 in his first 200 at-bats with the Bluefield Orioles. Baltimore drafted Flacco, the brother of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, in the 31st round.