After Four Years of Seasoning, Still Another Independent Star Could Be Heading Toward the Minnesota Twins

The stars all seem aligned perfectly for C. J. Ziegler as last year’s power king tries to become another Independent Baseball product to pull on a major league baseball uniform.  It probably will not come as early as this year, but the leader of last season’s Wichita (KS) Wingnuts bears close scrutiny.

Ziegler seems to have on his side being in an organization (Minnesota) which has a very open mind to Independent players these days since no less than three of them made their major league debut with the American League team last summer, including longtime Can-Am League star Chris Colabello , who was crowned Independent Player of the Year after the 2011 season.  Baseball America bestowed that same honor on the right-handed hitting Ziegler after last year’s league-record 30 homers, 99 RBI in 100 games and a .318 average in the American Association.

If Ziegler eventually reaches the majors he will give a big thank you to the non-affiliated game since he spent nearly four full seasons honing his talent in three separate leagues after a two-year run in which he showed plenty of power potential at the University of Arizona only to get less than two seasons in rookie ball and Class A with the San Francisco Giants before they gave up on the Arizona native.

Ziegler has been playing pretty much every day at first base or as the designated hitter for Minnesota’s top farm club at Rochester, NY so far in spring training in Fort Myers, FL , including launching one home run that “felt good” against Tampa Bay minor leaguers in Port Charlotte, FL recently although he admits with the trickle-down influx of players from the major league camp he has no idea if he will break camp March 30 with the Triple-A team or with Double-A New Britain, CT.

He knows this much:  “I want to be in the middle of the lineup and drive in runs”. 

While nearly two seasons at Wichita as well as a summer at Traverse City, MI (Frontier League) and a campaign in the North American League are in the rear view mirror, Ziegler is lavish in his praise.  “The American Association is a great league,” he offered.  “I loved the competition.”  He singled out Wichita skipper Kevin Hooper and President/General Manager Josh Robertson.   “Overall, they want to win the right way.  They run it just like an affiliated organization.”

Majors Still a Question for Colabello, Peterson, Roark

While C. J. Ziegler will have to prove himself in the minors first, two of the brightest power hitters Independent Baseball has produced in some time still are fighting for major league jobs right now after getting their first taste at that level last season.

Chris Colabello with Minnesota and Brock Peterson with Washington , both primarily first basemen with a little outfield experience, continue to carry strong batting averages and decent runs batted in production for the spring although they do not yet appear certain to start the year in the major leagues.

Like Colabello, another player who started his career in Independent play and got to the majors for the first time last season, right-handed pitcher Tanner Roark continues to be in a three-way race as Washington’s fifth starter.  The onetime Frontier League (Southern Illinois) hurler threw five shutout innings against a Detroit minor league team this week after his regular start was rained out, and the Nationals had him face a few more hitters after that stint since he had not yet reached his 75-pitch limit.

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Leverton Among Those on Panama Trip

Former Can-Am League hurler James Leverton , whose career was rescued with an 8-4, 2.38 season with the New Jersey Jackals (Little Falls) in 2011, is back in the Miami Marlins’ minor league camp now, but the classy lefty got to experience a few weeks in major league spring training plus a trip to Panama for the series honoring all-time saves champion Mariano Rivera.  Leverton threw a scoreless inning, which gave him three appearances with the parent team and a 3.00 spring earned run average.

Catcher-first baseman Jose Gil (Lincoln, NE, American Association) and outfielder Antoan Richardson (Schaumburg, IL, Northern League) both got into games for the Yankees in Panama. They remain in the big league camp, Gil hitting .286 (4-for-14 in 13 appearances) and Richardson at .316 (6-for-19) in 16.

40 Still Competing for Major League Jobs

Of the 51 onetime Independent players who started spring training, 40 still are in major league camps (by our count) 10 days before the regular season opens (if we discount the two Arizona-Los Angeles Dodgers games in Australia later this week).

             (This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes annually on Independent Baseball.  Thirty-six columns are planned during 2014.  Fans may subscribe at www.WirzandAssociates.com , enjoy added stories on the blog www.IndyBaseballChatter.com , or comment to RWirz@aol.com .  The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)