Saturday, March 17, 2012

DANE DE LA ROSA AND CODY CLARK SEE FORTUNES IMPROVE; OTHERS SENT TO MINORS

Among all of the Independent players still trying to climb to the majors this spring training, Kansas City catcher Cody Clark and Tampa Bay reliever Dane DeLaRosa may have made the greatest strides.

DeLaRosa, who is on the 40-man roster and got into seven games last season (0-0, 9.82), has had a terrific first five appearances. He has not been scored on, but it is the 11 strikeouts in 5.2 innings (six hits, three walks) that should be making some impact. DeLaRosa, 29, has a lengthy Indy resume with appearances at Southern Maryland (Waldorf) of the Atlantic League, El Paso, TX in the American Association and with four Golden League teams (Victoria, Orange County, Long Beach and Yuma).

Clark, who played at San Diego in the Golden League, could benefit from long term injuries to two key Kansas City receivers which appears to leave the 30-year-old battling occasional major leaguer Max Ramirez to see who backs up Brayan Pena early in the season unless the Royals reach out to a free agent such as Ivan Rodriguez.

Clark, in the Kansas City system since 2007 and at Triple-A Omaha the last two seasons, has been in eight spring training games, and has hit .364 (4-for-11) with a .429 on-base percentage. He has only one RBI, however, while Ramirez, who has 54 major league appearances to his credit, has homered three times and driven in eight runs while hitting .385 (5-for-13).

RECENT CUTS

Indy hopefuls sent to minor league camps recently include first baseman Valentino Pascucci by the New York Mets and pitchers Brandon Sisk (Kansas City), Mike DeMark and Jason Lane (Arizona), Logan Kensing (Pittsburgh) and Erik Hamren (San Diego).

We plan to include a roster of all remaining Independent players in major league camps in this Thursday's subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider column.

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