A league-leading six St. Louis Cardinals prospects, all members of the Batavia Muckdogs, have been selected to
participate in the 2008 New York-Penn League All-Star Game, the league announced
Tuesday. They are pitchers Arquimedes Nieto and Adam Reifer, infielders Colt Sedbrook and Jermaine Curtis and outfielders Frederick Parejo and Shane Peterson.
Arquimedes Nieto, just 19 years of age, has the
best ERA among league qualifiers at 1.42. The right-hander has a 5-0 record in
his 11 NY-Penn appearances. He has fanned 36 and walked just 13 in 44.1 innings
pitched and is holding league hitters to a .211 average.
The Panamanian has successfully
made the big jump from the Dominican Summer League, where he excelled last
season, to short-season ball here in the US. Nieto was
originally signed by the Cardinals on March 3, 2007.
Closer Adam Reifer, 22, leads the league in
saves with 15. He has struck out 27 and walked 11 in 20 mound innings, limiting
opposing batters to a .153 average.
The former University of California-Riverside star joined the
Cardinals after his junior year. He was taken by the Cardinals in the
11th round of the 2007 draft after injuring his elbow. Reifer pitched
in just six collegiate games and none as a professional in 2007, so his strong
campaign this year can be considered his maiden voyage.
Second baseman Colt Sedbrook is paying early dividends
on the 22nd round pick the Cardinals spent on him in this June’s
First-Year Player Draft.
The former University of Arizona standout leads the club with a
.303 average and with six triples. The 23-year-old is second in stolen bases
with ten and also second in OPS at .814.
Third baseman Jermaine Curtis has made just two
errors in 35 games at the hot corner since signing as the Cardinals fifth-round
pick from UCLA. The right-handed hitting 21-year-old is batting .293 with a
solid .373 on base percentage for the Muckdogs.
Centerfielder Frederick Parejo is the second teenager
in the Cardinals All-Star contingent. He turned 18 just last month. The
speedster from Venezuela is hitting .279 for the
Muckdogs in 2008.
Parejo signed with the Cardinals
as a 16-year-old on August 10, 2006. Last season, he struggled in his first
professional action, challenged in the USA in the Gulf Coast League instead
of the Venezuelan Summer League. It seems the confidence the organization has
shown in him is now beginning to pay off.
Taken in the second round of this
June’s draft, expectations are high for right fielder Shane Peterson and so far, he is doing
ok. The former Long
Beach State
standout is batting .280 with 30 RBIs and has yet to make an error in his first
46 professional contests.
The fourth-ever game in the New
York-Penn All-Star Game series will be played on Tuesday, August 19 at Joseph L.
Bruno Stadium in Troy,
New York, the home park of the
Tri-City Valley Cats. The National League clubs play the American
League.
Link
to rosters
In 2007, the Muckdogs had only
three NY-Penn League All-Stars in first baseman Andrew Brown and pitchers Jess Todd and Josh Dew. They were good
choices however, as Todd has progressed all the way to Triple-A Memphis in the
intervening year, while Brown and Dew are members of the Double-A Springfield Cardinals.
Brian Walton can be
reached via email at brwalton@earthlink.net.
© 2008
stlcardinals.scout.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
rewritten or redistributed.