Ports Players Invited to A's Spring Training
Published on December 15, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Ports, 11-time champions of the California League, are excited to announce that eight former Ports players are among the 19 non-roster invitees to the 2010 Oakland A's Spring Training camp.
Among the non-roster invitees are pitchers Sam Demel and Tyson Ross, catchers Josh Donaldson and Anthony Recker, infielders Adrian Cardenas, Grant Green and Jemile Weeks, and outfielder Grant Desme.
Ross, Green, Weeks and Desme all competed for the Stockton Ports in 2009, while Demel, Donaldson and Cardenas were members of the 2008 California League Champion team. Recker was a member of the 2007 Stockton club. Demel, Weeks, and Desme represented the A's organization this offseason in the Arizona Fall League with the Phoenix Desert Dogs, who advanced to the AFL Championship game for the sixth straight season.
Demel split the 2009 season between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Sacramento. With the Rockhounds, he went 0-2 with 11 saves in 27 appearances with a 0.61 ERA. Demel struck out 26 batters in 29.1 innings, and earned Texas League Mid-Season All-Star honors. With the River Cats, he went 2-3 with three saves in 28 appearances with a 3.62 ERA. His 14 saves this summer was good for third best among all Oakland A's farmhands. This is his first invitation to Spring Training.
Ross, the A's 2nd Round draft pick in 2008, is making his second consecutive appearance in the A's Spring Training camp. Ross began the 2009 season with the Ports before being promoted to Midland. With the Ports, Ross went 5-6 in 18 starts with a 4.17 ERA. He fanned 82 batters in 86.1 innings. With Midland, Ross compiled a 5-4 record in nine starts and a 3.96 ERA. The Oakland, Calif. native ended the season with a combined 10-10 record, 4.09 ERA and 113 strikeouts. Ross ranked among the top 10 pitchers in the A's minor league system following the 2009 season.
Donaldson, who was also invited to the A's 2009 Spring Training camp, spent the entire 2009 campaign with Midland. He finished the season with a .270 batting average, 37 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 91 RBI in 124 games. Donaldson was also named a Texas League Mid-Season All-Star. He finished the season tied for third with Matt Spencer for most RBI in the A's farm system, and set new single-season career highs in doubles and RBI.
Recker spent the 2009 season at Midland and Sacramento. With the Rockhounds, he batted .298 in 16 games with four doubles, three home runs and 9 RBI. With the River Cats, he batted .261 with 11 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 45 RBI in 78 appearances. Recker, who was also a non-roster invitee to the 2008 A's Spring Training camp, set a new single-season career high in home runs this summer.
Cardenas is making his second consecutive appearance at the A's Spring Training camp, after a solid 2009 season. Cardenas split the season between Midland and Sacramento. In 79 games with the Rockhounds, he batted .326 with 26 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 55 RBI. In 51 games with the River Cats, he hit .251 with 15 doubles, two triples, a home run and 24 RBI. Cardenas was named a Texas League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star for his performance this summer. He also ranked among the top 10 batters in the Oakland minor league system this year with his combined .299 batting average.
Green was the A's First Round draft pick (13th overall) in 2009, and he made his professional debut with the Stockton Ports on September 2. In five games with Stockton, he batted .316 with six hits in 19 at-bats. He collected a double and three RBI. He went 1x4 in his professional debut. Green, a standout athlete at the University of Southern California, agreed to terms with the Oakland A's on August 17. This is his first appearance in the A's spring camp.
Weeks, the A's First Round draft pick (12th Overall) in 2008, started the 2009 season by hitting safely in each of the first 22 straight games he played in-the longest hitting streak by a Stockton player in 2009, and second longest in the California League. He batted .400 (36x90) with five doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 23 RBI in that span. Weeks batted .299 in 50 games with Stockton, with nine doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 31 RBI. Weeks was promoted to Midland midseason, and batted .238 with five doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI in 30 games with the Rockhounds. This will be his second consecutive appearance at Oakland's Spring Training Camp.
Desme was named the 2009 Player of the Year for the Stockton Ports, and also selected as the 2009 Arizona Fall League MVP. In 2009, Desme began the year with Single-A Kane County before joining the Ports after the All-Star Break. In 62 games with the Ports, Desme posted a .304 batting average, with 12 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 51 RBI. Desme led the Ports in home runs and finished third on the team in RBI. Desme, in fact, led the A's farm system with 31 total home runs, and ranked among Oakland's minor league system leaders with 89 total RBI and 40 stolen bases.
Desme finished Arizona Fall League play with 11 home runs, tying him for fourth-most in Arizona Fall League history. Desme led the AFL in home runs and in total bases (72), and finished second in the league with 27 RBI and 30 runs scored. He was also named the Week 2 Player of the Week for the AFL. This is his first invitation to Major League camp.
The Ports are proud of the success of their current and former players, and hope to see that success continue in the 2010 Oakland A's Spring Training Camp.
Season tickets, mini-ticket plans, group outings and luxury suites for the 2010 season are on sale now. Fans can purchase them at the Ports ticket office, by phone at (209) 644-1900, or online at www.stocktonports.com.
California League Stories from December 15, 2009
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- Ports Players Invited to A's Spring Training - Stockton Ports
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