April 3, 2010
STANFORD, Calif.-- Six former Stanford baseball players are expected to start the season in the Majors in 2010, with another three on the cusp of their Major League debuts.
Jeremy Guthrie is penciled in as the No. 2 starter for the Orioles as he enters his seventh year in the Majors while Carlos Quentin, a former MVP candidate, is in his third season with the White Sox and fifth in the Majors.
Ryan Garko, who finished the 2009 season with the Giants and then signed with the Mariners, was claimed off waivers and will start the season with the Rangers. He is entering his sixth Major League season.
Outfielder Chris Carter, after a solid .393 batting average in spring training (through Friday) made the Mets roster, as did catcher John Hester, who hit .370 in the spring and is one of three receivers for former Stanford All-American and Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch.
Rounding out the list is Jody Gerut, who is a reserve outfielder for the Brewers. Gerut made his debut in the Majors with the Indians in 2003.
Ruben Amaro, Jr. is the general manager of the Phillies, while Kenny Williams, who played football at Stanford, is the GM of the White Sox.
Another two former Major Leaguers from Stanford will begin the season on the disabled list. Jed Lowrie, who has played for the Red Sox the previous two years, is on the DL with mononucleosis, while Greg Reynolds, who missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, was hit on the elbow in spring training and will start the season on the DL. According to insiders, Reynolds had been pitching well this spring.
Three additional players should be in a Major League uniform soon: Oakland outfielder Michael Taylor, Astros catcher Jason Castro and last year's closer Drew Storen. Taylor and Castro will start the season in Triple-A, Storen in Double-A with another first round pick of the Nationals, Stephen Strasburg.
Other former Stanford alumni on Major League spring training rosters included: Eric Bruntlett (Washington), Sam Fuld (Chicago), Mike Gosling (Cleveland), John Mayberry, Jr. (Philadelphia), Dony Lucy (White Sox), Joe Borchard (San Francisco) and Jeremy Bleich (Yankees). Gosling, Mayberry and Taylor all were optioned down to minor league camp over the final week.
Stanford has had 84 players reach the Majors since Charlie Swindells was the first in 1904 with the St. Louis Cardinals. That list has included: former American League president Bobby Brown in the 1950s, Cy Young Award winners Jim Lonborg in the 1960s and 1970s, notably with the Red Sox and Jack McDowell with the White Sox in the 1990s, gold glove catcher Bob Boone in the 1970s, and Yankee and Oriole pitcher Mike Mussina, who retired in 2008 with 270 wins.