Bearkats in the Minor Leagues
7/19/2013 9:52:00 AM | Baseball
It's a long road to get into Major League Baseball, but eight former Bearkats are keeping their dreams alive with strong summers in the minors.
Caleb Smith and Cody Dickson are the newest additions to the minor league ranks, both playing in the Class A Short Season - New York-Penn League.
Smith has pitched in five games for the Staten Island Yankees, with two starts, and has put up a solid 2.65 ERA with 18 strikeouts to just five walks. The left hander from Huntsville picked up his first professional win July 13.
Dickson has also pitched in five games this season and has only been used as a starter by the Jamestown Jammers. The lefty from Arlington has a 5.02 ERA in 14 1/3 innings and 20 strikeouts. He hasn't yet earned a decision this season.
Dustin Martin (2006 MLB draft) and Ryan Tepera (2009 MLB draft) are both playing Double-A ball.
Martin, who recently signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, is hitting .333 with seven doubles and five home runs. An outfielder for the Mobile BayBears, he has 17 RBI and 18 runs scored.
The Corpus Christi product was playing for the Sugar Land Skeeters before signing with Arizona.
Tepera was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays and remains in the organization as a member of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Lake Jackson native has a 3.91 ERA and an 8-6 record in 18 starts. In his last outing, July 17, he pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven.
Justin Jackson (2012 MLB draft) and Brent Powers (2011 MLB draft) are also pitching in the New York-Penn League. Jackson has a 3.81 ERA in six games for the Batavia Muckdogs. Powers has a 2.08 ERA in five starts for the Vermont Lake Monsters.
Matt Shelton (2011 MLB draft) is pitching for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Class A Advanced California League. He has a 3.54 ERA in 18 appearances with 22 strikeouts. He is currently riding an eight-inning scoreless streak over his last seven outings.
Dallas Gallant (2010 MLB draft) has returned from Tommy John surgery and been promoted from Elizabethtown to the Class A Cedar Rapids Kernals. In his first outing for the Kernals he tossed a scoreless 1 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.
