Courtesy of Vermont Athletic Communications
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Former University of Vermont
baseball standout Chris
Blazek '06, a member of the Houston Astros organization, has been
assigned to pitch in the prestigious Arizona Fall League that opened play this
week. Blazek's stint in the AFL, the top fall showcase for Major League
Baseball prospects, wraps up a solid season for four former Catamounts in
professional baseball.
In
addition to Blazek, who was a midseason Texas League (AA) All-Star for the
Corpus Christi Hooks, Derek
Miller '05 pitched at the Double A level for the Huntsville Stars,
Milwaukee's Southern League affiliate; Bryan
Rembisz '07 pitched for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the Angels'
affiliate in the Advanced A California League, and infielder Miguel
Magrass '08 was one of the top power hitters for the Midwest Sliders in
the independent Frontier League.
Blazek is a left-handed reliever for the Scottsdale
Scorpions in the AFL. Now in its 17th season, the Arizona Fall League
has developed into the destination of choice for big league teams to send their
most promising and Major League-ready prospects, both on the field and in the
dugouts. Among Blazek's teammates on the Scorpions are pitcher Clay Buchholz
(Boston), second baseman Emmanuel Burriss (San Francisco) and infielder Kevin
Frandsen (San Francisco), three players who spent a good portion of the 2008
season in the Major Leagues.
Blazek is the first former Catamount to play in the AFL and he is the lowest
draft pick among the seven Houston prospects assigned to Scottsdale. He was
taken in the 23rd round of the 2005 June Draft by the Astros after earning
America East All-Conference First Team honors in the spring.
A lefthander in his first season at the Double A level, Blazek pitched in
relief in 47 games for the Hooks, tying for the team lead in appearances. He
was 4-4 with two saves and had a 4.52 earned run average while striking out 84
hitters and walking just 28 in 69.2 innings. One of the league's top middle
relievers, the Litchfield, Conn.-native earned a spot in the Texas League
All-Star Game in June.
Miller split the 2008 season between Huntsville and the Brevard County Manatees
of the Advanced Class A Florida State League. Also a lefthanded pitcher, he
made 16 starts for the Stars recording a 6-2 record with a 4.66 ERA walking
only 38 hitters in 73.1 innings before an injury at midseason. A native of
Pelham, N.H. who was a 47th round draft choice of the Brewers in 2004, he
finished the campaign at Brevard County on a rehab assignment with four strong
appearances striking out 10 and walking only four in 12.1 innings.
A native of Clinton, Conn., Rembisz began the summer pitching for the Traverse
City (Mich.) Beach Bums of the independent Frontier League before being signed
by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization on June 27. He was one of the
more durable relievers for Rancho Cucamonga in the second half of the season
pitching in 21 games going 1-1 with two saves and a 3.44 ERA. He walked just
five batters and struck out 26 in 36.2 innings holding opponents to a .245
average as the Quakes' run for the final California League playoff spot fell
one game short.
After an excellent spring season helping lead the Catamounts to a spot in the
America East Baseball Championship for the third time in his four seasons,
Magrass signed with the Midwest
Sliders on June 3. In 82 games for the Sliders, he hit .252 with 11
doubles, 11 homers and 41 runs batted in. Hitting in the middle of the order,
the native of West Roxbury, Mass. was second on the team in home runs and runs
scored (48), and third in RBI. Based out of Waterford, Mich., a suburb of
Detroit, the Sliders played the entire 2008 season on the road while awaiting
construction of a new ballpark.
Vermont has had 10 former players reach the major leagues, the last being Kirk
McCaskill '83 who pitched for the Angels and White Sox in his 11-year
career from 1985 to 1995. Click
here for more information on the Catamounts active in professional
baseball as well as all of UVM's former big leaguers.