Can-Am Canadian American League

Northeast League sells two more players

August 9, 2004 - Canadian American League (Can-Am) News Release


Durham, N.C. -- The Northeast League saw its total of players sold to Major League Baseball teams increase by two from seven to nine on Monday, Aug. 9, when the Anaheim Angels purchased Quebec's Ben Grezlovski and the Seattle Mariners bought North Shore's John Kelly. Grezlovski will report to Double-A Little Rock, while Kelly will pitch for Triple-A Tacoma. Grezlovski is the fourth Quebec player sold joining Jeff Harris (Seattle on June 3), Paul Abraham (San Diego on June 10) and Chuck Crumpton (Montreal on July 2). Kelly is the second North Shore player bought, as Jeremy Sugarman was purchased by Cincinnati on July 29.

Grezlovski, who began the season with New Jersey, was a combined 7-1 with six saves and a 1.51 earned run average. In 55 2/3 innings, he has allowed only six earned runs and struck out 44 while walking 10. Grezlovksi made 19 appearances for Quebec, all out of the bullpen, and was one of the main reasons Les Capitales sit in first place in the North Division. The signing by the Angels is a case of deja vu for the 5-foot-11 right-hander, as he was originally signed by Anaheim in 1999 and pitched his way up to Double-A Little Rock in 2002, where he appeared in 36 games and was 0-2 with a 5.13 ERA. Last season, Grezlovski played for New Jersey and went 7-4 with six saves and an ERA of 1.80.

Kelly, who earlier today was named by SportsTicker as the NEL's Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season, was 8-3 with a 2.60 ERA, which ranked fourth in the league. In 83 innings of work, he struck out a league-best 110 while surrendering only 30 free passes. In addition, Kelly led the league in complete games (4) and shutouts (3) and was named to the 2004 All-Star Team. Originally selected by the New York Mets in the 11th round of the 1994 MLB Draft, Kelly, who struck out a career-high 16 batters last week, also played with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners, making it as high as Double-A Orlando in 1998. This is his third year in the Northeast League and second with North Shore.

Grezlovski and Kelly are the 29th and 30th NEL players to appear on an affiliated team's roster this season.

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