Aces Announce Players' New Teams
July 12, 2013 - United League Baseball (ULB)
Alexandria Aces News Release
Several players of the 2013 Alexandria Aces have immediately landed with new teams.
Lefthanded starter Jon Jones, whose 4-1 record and 3.18 earned run average ranked among the league leaders, was sold to the Laredo Lemers (American Association).
Other players were selected by other United League teams in a dispersal draft held on Thursday.
Spark plug second baseman Eddie Murray has been selected by the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings.
Derrick Pyles, the United League's current RBI leader, and Austin Newell, who leads the league in OPS, will give the San Angelo Colts the offensive production they sorely need after losing three of their biggest hitters to American Association teams this year.
The first place Fort Worth Cats will get catcher Doug Freeman and infielder Josh Band. Freeman is blessed with a strong throwing arm while Band had hit .400 (12-30) after joining the Aces for their final eight games of the season.
"I know a good swing when I see it," Aces manager Von Hayes said of Band. "He's a solid player. I think he has a chance to move to a different level."
Pitchers Alex Schmarzo, Mike Loseke, Cullen Babin, Cameron Dullnig and infielders Travis Clark and Michael Haynes will all go to the Edinburg Roadrunners.
Clark is blessed with superior defensive abilities, including a great throwing arm. Haynes has been the Aces' starting shortstop all season long and ranks among the league leaders in stolen bases.
Schmarzo has been clocked at 93 miles an hour this season, while Babin is coming off a victory and a save in his last two performances, over which he retired 14 straight hitters.
Lefthanded Loseke was 3-1 for the Aces this year with a 4.05 earned run average, while Dullnig spent time as both the Aces starting third baseman and one of their top set up men in the bullpen, allowing only one run in 10 appearances all season long and none in his last nine games.
Several other players are still negotiating with other teams and leagues. They include pitchers Dan Schmidt, one of the Aces top starters at 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA, outfielder Chad Bunting, who possesses great range, relief pitchers Gabe Grammer and Nathan Stewart; known for their ability to throw 90 mile per hour fastballs, Michael Calderon, who has great movement on his curve and throws strikes, Jadd Schmeltzer, a former Ivy Leaguer and Red Sox farmhand who threw eight shutout innings in a 1-0 victory against Edinburg on June 28, Ryan Zimmerman, who led the United League with a 0.64 earned run average early this season, 6-5 Ryan Waters, who was to appear in the Aces' starting rotation again after not allowing an earned run in his last 10 innings pitched, and Jeff Sakowski, who was on the roster of the fourth United/North American Baseball League team in his career.
Nick Mahin, the Aces' slugging third place hitter, Alex Foltz, a Frontier League veteran who had become a starter, Ryan Gasporra, a left-handed hitting catcher and the Aces' best offensive player at the position, and Zack Cadet, who had been the Aces' leadoff hitter for most of the year with surprising clutch hitting ability, are also free agents.
Manager Von Hayes will be a manager/instructor in the Texas Summer League.
United League Baseball Stories from July 12, 2013
- Roadrunners Swept by Thunder - Edinburg Roadrunners
- United League makes schedule changes - San Angelo Colts
- Aces Announce Players' New Teams - Alexandria Aces
- Colts make moves at start of home stand - San Angelo Colts
- Colts Commit Six Errors in 16-5 Loss - San Angelo Colts
- Colts Commit Six Errors in 16-5 Loss - San Angelo Colts
- Bishop Leads Cats to 16-5 Win over Colts - Fort Worth Cats
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