North Carolina State University Athletics
Summer Baseball Update
7/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 3, 2001
RALEIGH, N.C. - For the first time in several years, NC State has a small contingent of just two players in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Pack had five players in the Cape League each of the past two seasons, but in 2001 only righthanded pitchers Ryan Combs and Mike Sollie are representing NC State in the Cape League. Combs is pitching with the Cotuit Kettleers, while Sollie is with the Hyannis Mets. Both a re rising seniors.
Through games of July 2, Combs was 0-2, but with an outstanding ERA of 1.42. Combs had made four appearances, all starts, and had allowed 22 hits and five walks while striking out 11 in 25 1/3 innings. Run support clearly was an issue for the Kettleers pitching staff. Cotuit was 5-11 on the season and in last place in the Cape League's Western Division. The Kettleers had a team batting average of just .185, worst in the league.
Combs went 3-4 with a 5.56 ERA for the Wolfpack this spring. He appeared in 17 games and made 10 starts.
Sollie, pitching in relief for Hyannis, had made made six appearances and was 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA. He had worked 7 2/3 innings and had allowed seven hits, struck out four and had not issued a walk. Hyannis was 7-10 and in fourth place in the Western Division, a game and a half ahead of Cotuit.
Sollie was a mainstay in the NC State bullpen in 2001, making 26 appearances, all in relief. He went 3-1 with a 5.44 ERA.
COASTAL PLAIN LEAGUE: NC State has eight players in the Coastal Plain League this summer, led by rising sophomore outfielder Joe Gaetti, who was batting .324 in 11 games for the Wilson Tobs. Gaetti, who hit four home runs in the ACC Tournament to earn a spot on the all-tournament team, had just one extra-base hit for Wilson, a double, and just one RBI as of July 2. He had stolen three bases in five attempts. Wilson's Fleming Stadium is a pitchers' haven, with cavernous outfield dimensions. Gaetti batted .256 with six home runs (four in the tournament) and 26 RBIs for NC State in the spring.
In Asheboro, righthander Derek McKee was having a standout season. In five starts for the Copperheads, McKee, a rising junior, was 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He had pitched 35 innings, allowed 27 hits, walked 10 and struck out 32. McKee, who went 3-4 with a 4.92 ERA for the Wolfpack in the spring, ranked eighth in the Coastal Plain League in ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts.
Rising junior Jeremy Dutton and rising sophomore David Hicks, both infielders, also were in Asheboro this summer. Dutton, playing third base for the Copperheads, was hitting .259 with a pair of doubles and eight RBIs. He had drawn 13 walks and had an on-base percentage of .368. He had committed just three errors in 22 games at third base. Dutton, who came on strong the second half of the season for the Wolfpack, finished the spring with a .328 average, 20 doubles, six triples, three home runs and 36 RBIs.
Hicks, whose production tailed off late in the season for the Wolfpack, was off to a slow start in Asheboro, hitting just .164 in 17 games. On the mound, he was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in three relief appearances. Hicks batted .260 with one homer and 23 RBIs in the spring. He was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in eight appearances on the mound.
Four Wolfpack players are playing this summer for the Durham Braves -- rising senior outfielder Jamey Shearin, rising senior lefthander Kyle Stephenson, rising junior righthander Daniel Caldwell, and rising junior catcher J.R. Riley. Caldwell and Riley were regulars for the Braves, who were 16-7 through July 2 and leading the South Division by two games.
Caldwell was 1-2 with a 3.33 ERA in five games, four of them starts. He had pitched 27 innings, allowed 30 hits, walked six and struck out 16. Caldwell, who was NC State's opening-day pitcher this past spring, finished the '01 season with a 5-5 record and a 5.16 ERA.
Riley was hitting .164 with two doubles, a homer and six RBIs in 18 games. He hit .239 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 28 RBIs for NC State in the spring.
Shearin and Stephenson both were hurt and had seen very limited playing time. In just four games, Shearin had two hits in 12 at-bats. Shearin, who caught fire the second half of the season for the Wolfpack, finished the spring hitting .315 with six home runs and 41 RBIs. Stephenson was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA and a save in three relief appearances at Durham. He finished the spring 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA.
FORMER PLAYERS IN THE PROS: At the professional level, 14 former Wolfpackers are currently playing in the minor leagues, with one perennial major leaguer still chugging along in his 16th big league season. Lefthander Dan Plesac (1981-83) had a 1-2 record and a 4.09 ERA in 33 relief appearances with the Toronto Blue Jays this season. He had worked 22 innings, allowed 21 hits, walked nine and fanned 33. Plesac had a career record of 57-64 with a 3.66 ERA and 154 saves. He is the all-time saves leader for the Milwaukee Brewers, having saved 133 games for the Brewers from 1986-92. Plesac was Milwaukee's first-round draft pick in 1983.
Former Wolfpack first baseman Andy Barkett (1992-95) played 17 games in the major leagues in May and June with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and played well. Barkett batted .304 (14-for-46) with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs in part-time action as a reserve outfielder and first baseman. He became expendable when Derek Bell came off the disabled list. The Pirates optioned Barkett back to Triple-A Nashville on June 25.
Barkett's biggest game in the major leagues came on June 9 vs. the Minnesota Twins when he had a home run, two singles and an RBI in four at-bats. That began a four-game stretch against the Twins and Detroit Tigers during which Barkett batted .538 (7-for-13). At Nashville of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, Barkett was hitting .241 with seven doubles, four home runs and 21 RBIs. Barkett was an undrafted free agent out of college in 1995 and signed with an unaffiliated independent team. He signed with the Texas Rangers organization later that summer, was released during the 2000 season, and spent the remainder of 2000 with the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A affiliate at Richmond. He signed with Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent this past offseason.
Also in the PCL, former NC State shortstop Adam Everett (1996) was batting .249 with 15 doubles, six triples, two home runs and 22 RBIs for New Orleans, the top farm club of the Houston Astros. Everett was drafted in the first round out of South Carolina by the Boston Red Sox in 1998. Two years later, the Red Sox traded Everett to Houston for outfielder Carl Everett, who is no relation.
The 2001 season in the Double-A Texas League has seen a rebirth of sorts for a pair of former NC State players. Outfielder Jake Weber (1995-98) and lefthander Corey Lee (1994-96), both coming off of sub-par 2000 seasons, have enjoyed successful first halves with their respective Texas League teams this season.
At San Antonio, Weber was hitting .303 with 20 doubles, one triple, one home run and 37 RBIs for the Missions, who are in their first year of affiliation with the Seattle Mariners. Weber spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons with Seattle's previous Double-A club at New Haven of the Eastern League, and batted .256 and averaged 22 doubles, eight homers and 58 RBIs over the two seasons. Seattle drafted Weber in the sixth round of the 1998 draft.
Lee spent the 2000 season at the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affiliate at Oklahoma City and had what amounted to a lost season. He finished the year with a 2-12 record and an 8.76 ERA. Much of his problems were due to spotty control -- 87 walks in 112 innings. This season, the Rangers sent Lee back to Double-A Tulsa, and while his record was just 5-7, his ERA was down to 4.00, and most important, he had issued just 30 walks in 92 1/3 innings while striking out 80. Lee was a sandwich selection between the first and second rounds of the 1996 draft.
At the Class A level, Chris Combs (1994-97) rejoined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization this season after nearly two years away from baseball. Combs initially retired from baseball as a pitcher in 1999. He is attempting his comeback as a position player. Because of Combs' upper-deck power, many were surprised when the Pirates drafted him as a pitcher, and although he was batting just .214 as an outfielder/first baseman, he had 12 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 23 RBIs with the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League. Combs was Pittsburgh's fifth-round draft pick in 1997.
Former Wolfpack infielder Mike Terhune (1996) was released by the Atlanta Braves during spring training, but signed with the New York Mets and was hitting .250 with seven doubles, a triple, a home run and 11 RBIs in part-time duty with the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League. Terhune signed with the Braves as an undrafted free agent following the 1996 college season.
Two former NC State players were competing in the Class A Midwest League. Matt Postell (1996-99), an infielder in his days with the Wolfpack but since converted to catcher by the Florida Marlins organization, was hitting .313 with four doubles, a home run and two RBIs in 48 at-bats for the Kane County Cougars. Postell spent much of the first half of the season at extended spring training. The Marlins picked Postell in the 29th round of the 1999 draft.
Also in the Midwest League, righthander Grant Dorn (1997-99) was 4-0 with a 4.12 ERA and three saves for the Clinton Lumber Kings. Dorn had made 24 appearances, working 39 1/3 innings and allowing 41 hits and 18 walks while striking out 26. Dorn was the Montreal Expo's 10th-round pick in 1999.
In the Class A South Atlantic League, catcher Dan Mooney (1999-2000) was hitting .278 after 18 at-bats for the Augusta Greenjackets. Like Postell, Mooney spent most of the first half of the season at the Boston Red Sox' extended spring training facility in Sarasota, Fla. He was assigned to Augusta following the draft in June. Mooney signed with the Red Sox as a free agent prior to the 2000 draft.
At Delmarva in the South Atlantic League, righthander Rodney Ormond (1996-99) is coming off major surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. The surgery went well, as was his comeback. Ormond was 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 12 appearances. He had worked 13 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, walking five and striking out 12. The Orioles drafted Ormond in the 27th round of the 1999 June draft.
Four more former NC State players made their professional debuts this summer. Righthander Jason Blanton was the 12th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2001 draft and was 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA in five appearances with the Boise Hawks of the short-season Class A Northwest League. Blanton had worked 10 1/3 innings, allowed 11 hits, walked five and struck out five.
Righthander Josh Miller went in the 32nd round of the draft to the Philadelphia Phillies, who assigned him to the Batavia Muckdogs of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. In three appearances, Miller was 0-0 and had not allowed a run. He had worked 5 2/3 innings and had given up six hits, walked none and struck out three.
Also at Batavia was third baseman Sean Walsh, whom the Phillies drafted in the 47th round. Converted to first base, Walsh was hitting .296 in 27 at-bats with Batavia.
Former Wolfpack first baseman Andy Baxter (1998-2000) was chosen by the Cleveland Indians in the 32nd round of the draft and assigned to Burlington of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. Baxter was off to an outstanding start at Burlington, batting .324 and leading the Appy League with five home runs and 15 RBIs. Baxter spent the 2001 season at East Tennessee State near his home in Erwin, Tenn.
(All stats in this report as of July 1 unless noted otherwise)
