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Friday, Jul. 03, 2009

Shawn Jansen: Who's on deck?

More than seven years had passed between the Major League debuts of Brian Fuentes and Dusty Ryan.

Fuentes made his first appearance out of the bullpen for the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 2001. Ryan debuted for the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 4 of last year.

The two names are Merced royalty now.

Our hometown heroes.

There were quite a few Mercedians who made the trip to Oakland to see Ryan for the first time this week.

It's very possible Ryan and Fuentes are going to have company up in the show.

And soon.

There are currently eight other players with local ties playing in the Minor Leagues.

I doubt will have to wait another seven years another guy to get his shot.

Ryan believes it's only a matter of time.

"I think it might be sooner," said the former Golden Valley and Merced College star. " I wouldn't be surprised if some of these guys were September call-ups."

There are two guys knocking on the door in Dos Palos' Leonard Davis and Golden Valley's Doug Fister.

Fister struggled for the most part in Double-A last year.

Now, he's just a phone call away from putting on a Seattle Mariners uniform.

The former Merced College right-hander is 4-1 with a 4.20 ERA out of the bullpen for Tacoma.

Fister has an eye-popping 57 strikeouts and just 4 walks in 70 innings pitched.

"I'm very happy for Doug," said Ryan, who played with Fister at GV and Merced College. "He's finally getting his chance in Triple-A.

"I know he's had his struggles in Double-A, but he's getting his chance now in Triple-A and he's taking advantage of it."

Davis was was moved to the Nationals' 40-man roster this year.

His move back to the outfield from third base may make it an easier path to the Major Leagues without Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman blocking his way.

Davis will play in the Eastern League All-Star game for the Southern Division.

He's hitting .285 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs for Double-A Harrisburg.

He'll be playing in the all-star game with some of the top prospects in baseball pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who may be battling for a spot in the San Francisco Giants rotation by the end of the year.

Former Livingston flame thrower Omar Aguilar is another local guy who has a legitimate shot.

Like Davis, Aguilar was on the Milwaukee Brewers' 40-man roster during spring training.

However, Aguilar struggled in Double-A Huntsville this spring.

The right-hander had a 7.71 ERA before he was sent down to Single-A Brevard County.

Still, Aguilar and his 100 mph fastball can quickly turn it around.

Other local guys like former Merced stars Eddie Gamboa and Thomas Eager have pitched well in Single-A.

Former Buhach Colony catcher Jake Jefferies is hitting well for Single-A Bowling Green.

Curtis Partch (Merced) is still working his way through the Cincinnati Reds system and Merced College's Bradin Hagens is getting his feet wet in the Rookie Pioneer League after signing his first pro contract a few weeks ago.

It's an impressive list for Merced County.

One that I'm sure will grow in the next couple years when former Dos Palos pitcher Cody Martin (Gonzaga) and former Buhach Colony stud Brett Mooneyham (Stanford) become draft eligible again.

Soon Merced County may be referred to as a baseball hotbed.

Shawn Jansen is a Sun-Star sports reporter. He can be reached at 385-2462 or via e-mail at sjansen@mercedsun-star.com.