May 29, 2010
Drew Storen, former standout pitcher for the Stanford Cardinal, made his first major league debut earlier this month as a reliever against the St. Louis Cardinals as the pitcher in relief. Overcoming what Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman referred to as nerves in his first time on the mound, Storen proceeded to close out the seventh inning in the Nationals win. Riggleman called Storen's pitching "aggressive" while Nats catcher Ivan Rodriguez said that Storen did a great job. Storen has gone on since his debut to pitch a total of 5.1 innings of relief, allowing only one run in five games and earning his first win against the New York Mets last Friday.
While Storen made headlines following his debut at Busch Stadium, more former Cardinal players have continued to show progress in their pro ball play around the country. In Round Rock, TX, catcher Jason Castro has continued his phenomenal play, both behind the plate and at bat. The tenth overall pick of the 2008 draft has been called the Triple-A Express' top prospect and the Astro's catcher of the future. He's currently riding a ten game hit-streak, including a home run and six RBIs, averaging a .275 clip. Castro has also reached base safely in 36 of 39 games. A feature story on Castro's playing in the pros the past two seasons can be found at the Express' website.
Still out in the Pacific Coast League, Triple-A Memphis center fielder Jim Rapoport faced former Stanford outfielder and teammate Michael Taylor of Triple-A Sacramento earlier this month in a showdown between two teams hoping to stay in the race for their respective divisional leads. While Taylor was unavailable due to an injury sustained earlier in the month, Rapoport's Redbirds came out of California taking three of four with the center fielder contributing three runs and four hits in Memphis' wins. Rapoport heads into June with a .319 batting average and 27 runs to his name.
In Class A play, pitcher Erik Davis (2005-2008) has boosted his profile by posting a 4-1 record with the Lake Elsinore Storm, including a 3-0 record for the month of May. As a starter, Davis has a 4.53 ERA in 47.2 innings of play. He's also struck out 45 batters in his nine games on the mound.
As Stanford baseball winds down its 2010 season, look for more former Stanford players to improve their playing as they gear up for the warm summer games ahead.