St. John's University Athletics
Updating Red Storm Baseball Players In The Pro's
6/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
In 2005, the St. John's program saw a record seven new players join the professional ranks, adding to the university's already significant presence in both minor and major league baseball. Pitcher Rob Delaney and outfielder Will Vogl have both signed as free agents and made their professional debuts in 2006. With the minor and major league seasons underway, below is an update of where former Red Storm players are and how they have fared.
P.J. Antoniato, Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillies)
Antoniato earned an early season promotion from Short-Season A affiliate Batavia to Advanced A Clearwater of the Florida State League. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound shortstop has gotten off to a solid start at the plate, hitting .250 with his first career home run, four runs and five RBI in 32 at-bats. Antoniato was a 15th round selection of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2005 draft and went on to hit .198 with two doubles, a triple and 13 RBI in 34 games with the Batavia Muckdogs.
Rich Aurilia, Cincinnati Reds
Aurilia has played in 46 games for the upstart Cincinnati Reds and has hit .259 with 12 doubles and nine home runs in 162 at-bats. Aurilia has resurrected his career in Cincinnati and helped the Reds in a tight race in the National League Central Division. The 6-foot-1 infielder has played both first and second base for the Reds, and driven in nearly 100 runs in 160 games. Aurilia was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 24th round of the 1992 amateur draft after a solid career at St. John's.
Joe Burke, Tampa Yankees, Staten Island Yankees (New York Yankees)
Like Antoniato, Burke has been assigned to Short Season-A Staten Island, which began its 2006 season with an 18-0 rout of the Brooklyn Cyclones on Tuesday. Burke had also started the year in the Advanced A Florida State League, playing in two games for the Tampa Yankees. Burke was selected on the first day of the 2005 draft, going in the 18th round to the hometown New York Yankees with the 559th overall selection. A two-year starter with the Red Storm, Burke played in 37 games with Staten Island in 2005 and recorded a .220 batting average, four doubles, a home run and 13 RBI in 118 at-bats.
Rob Delaney, GCL Twins (Minnesota Twins)
Delaney signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, June 14 and immediately reported to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Twins. He made his career debut on Tuesday, June 20 and pitched 4.0 solid innings out of the bullpen in a 10-8 loss to the GCL Reds. In four seasons at St. John's, Delaney compiled a 15-6 record, 3.78 career earned run average and 153 strikeouts in 171.1 innings.
Craig Hansen, Portland Sea Dogs, Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston Red Sox
Hansen, a first-round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox in 2005, began his second professional season with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and was quickly promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket after five appearances. Hansen spent time as a starter at Pawtucket in an effort to refine his secondary pitches, was recalled by Boston in early June and was sent back to Pawtucket after making one appearance with the parent club. Last season, Hansen became the first player in Red Sox history to make it to Boston the same year he was drafted.
C.J. Nitkowski, Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Nitkowski has been lights-out with the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nitkowski has a 2-0 record and three saves in 29 appearances, and has allowed just 26 hits in 29.0 innings of work. Nitkowski, who made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1995, spent 10 seasons in the majors with the Reds, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Washington Nationals.
Mike Rozema, Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Mississippi Braves (Atlanta Braves)
Rozema made the jump from Single-A Myrtle Beach to Double-A Mississippi at the end of May, earning the promotion after hitting .277 with a .432 slugging percentage and 23 runs scored in 43 games. Since his promotion to Mississippi, Rozema has hit .222 with three doubles, four runs and four RBI in 19 games. A 14th round choice of the Atlanta Braves in the 2004 draft, Rozema has since made a steady progression through the professional ranks. He finished the 2005 season with Myrtle Beach and was assigned there at the start of the 2006 season.
Anthony Sullivan, Orem Owlz (Los Angeles Angels)
Sullivan made his 2006 debut in the Rookie-level Pioneer League on Tuesday, June 20 against the Ogden Raptors, allowing five hits and three runs in 2.1 innings of relief. Sullivan, who was selected in the 19th round of the 2005 draft by the Los Angeles Angels, saw mostly bullpen action in his first professional season. He made 18 relief appearances and one start, recording a 5-2 record, 6.03 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 37.1 innings in a solid pro debut.
Greg Thomson, South Bend Silver Hawks (Arizona Diamondbacks)
After a productive rookie season with the Rookie-Level Missoula Osprey in 2005, Thomson has gotten off to a hot start in 2006. Thomson was the highest draft choice of the Red Storm's position players in 2005, going to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 15th round, and went on to hit .270 with 14 extra-base hits, 29 runs scored and 20 RBI in 49 games in his first season. With his solid debut, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound outfielder, was promoted to Class-A South Bend of the Midwest League, and has responded with a .284 batting average, 13 doubles, two home runs, 21 RBI and 21 runs scored in 51 games.
Anthony Varvaro, No Team (Seattle Mariners)
Varvaro has yet to play a game professionally after undergoing surgery on his pitching arm at the end of the Red Storm's 2005 season. Acclaimed by many to be selected in the top three rounds of the draft, Varvaro still earned a 12th round selection by the Seattle Mariners, despite missing the 2005 postseason due to injury.
Will Vogl, Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Mets)
Vogl signed as a free agent with the New York Mets and reported to Brooklyn of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League on Monday, June 19. He appeared in the team's season opener against the Staten Island Yankees on Tuesday, June 20, going 0-for-1 at the plate in his professional debut. Vogl earned third-team All-America and first-team All-BIG EAST recognition for the Red Storm in 2006 after hitting .382 with 14 home runs, 18 doubles, 62 RBI and 64 runs scored.
Jim Wladyka, Hagerstown Suns (New York Mets)
Wladyka was a major success story of the 2005 season, going from an undrafted free agent to the Kingsport Mets (Short Season-A) Pitcher of the Year in a matter of months. The right-hander earned a promotion to the Class-A Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League in the spring and has since made 14 appearances out of the bullpen. In 24.1 innings of work, Wladyka has posted 4.07 ERA and allowed 29 hits and 10 walks.
