Beau Torbert's Number Retired by Sioux Falls Canaries

Beau Torbert, a member of the 2004 Greeneville Astros, was honored last night by the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent league American Association.  He was named as the inaugural member of their Hall of Fame and had his #7 retired. 

Here is what folks are saying about Torbert and his honor:

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 

He’s the best player I’ve seen in a Canaries/Pheasants uniform, and a good dude who clearly was genuinely moved by the honor. And the Canaries did a nice job of not overdoing it with the ceremony. It was well done.

Beau's hometown paper

Sioux Falls local television station video on Torbert. 

Torbert was drafted in the 17th round out of Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama. He spent 2004 with Greeneville and climbed the ladder in the Astros system up to AAA Round Rock before his release in 2007.  He then played three years of independent ball in Sioux Falls.  He was named Baseball America's Independent Player of the Year in 2010. He signed with the Braves as a minor league free agent but was released at the end of spring training. 

After one season of being a hitting coach for the Lincoln Saltdogs, Torbert now resides in the Sioux Falls area and works for the Canaries front office as their Baseball Outreach Coordinator.

Congrats to Beau on the honor and best of luck in his future endeavors. 

Former G-Stro Levi Romero Pitching In Japan

Levi Romero, who was a solid part of the pitching staff in 2004 for the Greeneville Astros, is pitching in the Japan in the NPB for the SoftBank Hawks.  He has pitched both in major league games and in the developmental league games.  I am unsure of his status but it appears he is with the big club.

Five 2004 G-Stros on the Move this Off Season

This is a busy time of the year and if you are a baseball player, off season can often mean moving time.  Here are some moves I have tweeted about but you might not have seen so I will put them all in one place for your convenience.

We will start with today's news: J. R. Towles (2004) has signed a minor league deal with the Twins. He has been invited to spring training. 

Juan Gutierrez (2004) was signed by the KC Royals to a minor league contract.  He is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and will not be ready for spring training.

Jordan Parraz (2004) has signed a minor league deal with the Braves.  He has been invited to spring training.

Wlad Sutil (2004) has signed a minor league deal with the D-Backs.
 
and not playing but still in baseball....

Beau Torbert (2004) is now the hitting coach for the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association (independent).

Former Appy Astros Who Are Now Minor League Free Agents

Baseball America released their list of the minor league free agents on Friday.  There are a great number of former G-Stros who are on the list.   Here are the ones whose careers are at a crossroads. Included are the year(s) they played in Greeneville and the organization they played in last season.

Sammy Gervacio (05 - Houston)
Brad James (05,06 - Houston)
JR Towles (04 - Houston)
Koby Clemens (05 - Houston)
Jhonny Medrano (10 - Houston)
Wlad Sutil (04 - Houston)
Victor Garate (05-  Florida)
Neil Sellers (04 - Florida)
Jordan Parraz (04 - NY Yankees)
Polin Trinidad (05,06 - Texas)
Jimmy Barthmaier (04 - Washington)

Most of the ones on the list have had their shots at the AA level or higher.  However Medrano has only been as high as Lexington (Low A).  He was on the initial roster for the 2008 G-Stros and was bringing a fair amount of buzz with him. He blew his knee out at the first practice of the season in Greeneville.  He missed all of 2008 and never fully regained his prospect status. 

Some of these players will sign with an affiliated team to fill out the upper levels rosters.  Some will choose to play in a foreign country.  Some will play indy ball.  Some of these players will hang their spikes up and walk away silently into the night. We will try to keep you informed on what happens to these players.

Towles & Sutil Becoming Free Agents Removes All 2004 G-Stros from Houston Org

J. R. Towles, one of the most popular players to ever wear the GreenEville Astros uniform was removed from the Houston Astros 40 man roster yesterday.  He will become a free agent as soon as the World Series ends. Towles could resign with the Astros as a non roster invitee to spring training but I would expect he would test other teams interest before that occurs.

That transaction means that, along with Wlad Sutil's pending minor league free agency, that no members for the 2004 GreenEville Astros remain in the Astros organization.   

Here are the 2004 players who remained in affiliated ball this year:


Jordan Parraz - AAA for the NY Yankees - hit .289 with an OPS of .802.Left Astros organization via trade with the Royals for Tyler Lumsden.

Neil Sellers - AA for the Marlins - hit .176 in just 59 games for New Orleans.  At age 29, his dream of making the big leagues might be about out.  Left the Astros in the 2007 Rule 5 draft.

Wlad Sutil - AA/AAA for Houston - hit combined .269 for the year.  His .284 average and solid glove in AA earned him a promotion to AAA where he hit just .222. Doubled his career HR total with two round trippers this year. Will be a free agent after the World Series.

J. R. Towles - AAA/MLB for Houston - hit .276 in 35 games in the minors, but just hit .184 in 54 games in the majors.  Will be a free agent after the World Series.

Douglas Arguello - AAA for Houston and Texas - Arguello was released by Houston after amassing a 3.67 ERA in 31 games. Texas picked him up for two appearances in September.

Jimmy Barthmaier - AA for the Pirates - was 5-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 39 games.  Had 69 strikeouts in 67 2/3 IP.  Marked the first time he had more K's than IP in his pro career.  Was signed by the Pirates after Houston released him following the 2007 season.

Juan Gutierrez - MLB for D-Backs - Missed most of the season with shoulder trouble.  He was released yesterday by the D-Backs. He left the Houston organization as a part of the Valverde trade in 2007.

Troy Patton - AAA/MLB for Baltimore - bounced back and forth between AAA & the Baltimore pen.  He had a 1.83 ERA in Norfolk and a 3.00 ERA in Baltimore. He was a part of the Miguel Tejada trade after the 2007 season.

Felipe Paulino - MLB for Colorado & Kansas City - He has a rough start to 2011 in Colorado.  He was 0-4 with a 7.36 ERA in his first 18 games.  After a trade to Kansas City, he had a solid showing.  For the Royals, he was 4-6 with a respectable 4.11 ERA. He was traded to Colorado prior to the 2011 season for Clint Barmes.  

So nine players from the 2004 G-Stros were still playing affiliated baseball this year.  Looking at the reason for leaving, most were a part of a trade to help the big club.  This serves as a reminder that prospects can help the club in more ways than in making it to the big club. 

Arguello Released

Releases are hard to read about. When you start following the start of a players career, as we are lucky to do in Greeneville, you expect that you will be reading about the end of those careers. Sometimes, you expect it to come quickly; other times you hope it will be years from their time with the G-Stros.

Today, I learned via Astros County that Douglas Arguello had been released. Arguello was a member of the 2004 Appy League Champ G-Stros. That year, he was 19 and was used exclusively out of the bullpen. Though it was the first year those of us in Greeneville had seen him pitch, it was his second year in the Appy League. He had pitched out of the Martinsville bullpen the year before. He dropped his ERA from 5.26 down t0 2.92 that season and then went on to be stretched out into a starter as he moved up the ladder.

Control has always been an issue for Arguello. This season, he was in AAA Oklahoma City. He started off the year in the rotation but struggled. They moved him to the pen and in the second half of the year, he was showing some promise. In July, after coming off the DL, he had a respectably solid 2.73 ERA in 12 outings. He was getting a good number of ground balls, and his 9 walks in 12 1/3 IP weren't hurting him. In August, he had 9 outings. In 5 of those, he didn't allow a single earned run. In the other 4, his line read this way: 1 2/3 IP, 6 H, 7 earned runs, 4 BB, 4 K. Three of those four outings ended with Arguello not getting anyone out.

But hey, he is left handed. He will likely go to winter ball and if he is successful there, maybe get a minor league invite to spring training from another organization. He will turn 27 in November. Best of luck to the Nicaragua native.

Here are who is left out of the 2004 G-Stros in affiliated ball as the 2011 season wraps up.

Juan Gutierrez - D'backs (MLB 60 day DL)
Felipe Paulino - Royals (MLB)
Troy Patton - Orioles (MLB)
J. R. Towles - Astros (AAA)
Jordan Parraz - Yankees (AAA)
Wlad Sutil - Astros (AA)
Brad James - Astros (AA)
Jimmy Barthmaier - Nationals (AA)
Neil Sellers - Phillies (AA)

That is 9 out of the 36 players who saw playing time in 2004 for the G-Stros. Having 25% of the players off a team being active in affiliated ball 7 years later isn't too bad. Five of the nine have seen MLB action (Towles & Barthmaier in addition to the 3 who are currently on MLB rosters).

2004 Greeneville Astros - Who is still around?

I was looking back over the 2004 G-Stros roster today and started figuring out who was still playing affiliated ball. It is a pretty impressive that 28% (10 out of 36) are still playing. Here are the players and the team they finished the season with.

Douglas Arguello - Corpus Christi Hooks (AA - Hou)
Jimmy Barthmaier - Altoona Curve (AA - Was)
Juan Gutierrez - Arizona Diamonbacks (MLB)
Brad James - Corpus Christi Hooks (AA - Hou - DL)
Jordan Parraz - Omaha Royals (AAA - Royals)
Troy Patton - Baltimore Orioles (MLB)
Felipe Paulino - Houston Astros (MLB)
Neil Sellers - Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (AAA - Phil)
Wlad Sutil - Corpus Christi Hooks (AA - Hou)
J. R. Towles - Corpus Christi Hooks (AA - Hou - DL)

Add those still playing Indy Ball

Ole Shelton - St. Paul Saints
Beau Torbert - Sioux Fall Pheasants

And you get a total of 33% still playing ball. We will be holding this group as the bench mark for other G-Stros teams as we look back at them during the off season.

What's He Up To: Beau Torbert

Wallace "Beau" Torbert was a member of the 2004 Greeneville Astros. He climbed all the way to AAA in the Astros' system before being released in 2007. He went to independent ball where he was then signed by the Tigers. He was released after spring training in 2008 and has been playing independent ball in the American Association ever since.

Beau is playing with the Sioux Fall Fighting Pheasants. He is dominating the league. As of today, he is leading the league in batting average (.390), hits (128), doubles (32), and RBI (87). He is second in slugging (.683) and HR (20). He has only made 2 errors in the field.

Last year, Beau was the MVP of the American Association.

Beau is 27 now. In baseball circles, that is considered your peak age. Here's hoping he gets picked up by an affiliated team soon and gets one more shot at the bigs.

On a side note, tied for fifth in the American Association for home runs is Beau's 04 teammate Ole Sheldon. Ole is playing for the St. Paul Saints.

If there any former Greeneville Astros you would like to know about, let me know and we will try to track them down.