Monthly Archives: September 2011

Remember Eric Duncan? Duncan, who had a really solid season with the Mississippi Braves in 2010, is having another really solid season. The former New York Yankees first-round pick is batting .274 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs for St. Louis’ Double-A club, Springfield. His hitting coach there is ex-M-Braves manager Phillip Wellman. Remember Cody Johnson? Johnson, who had a really rocky season with the M-Braves in 2010, is having another really rocky season. The former Atlanta Braves first-round pick, who was sold to the Yankees in the off-season, hit 15 homers at Double-A Trenton this year but was demoted to Class A Tampa with a .226 average and 138 strikeouts in 297 at-bats. He’s hitting .310 with six homers at Tampa but has 53 K’s in 126 at-bats.

P.S. Ole Miss alumnus Alex Presley came off the disabled list cold, managing just four hits in 27 at-bats for Pittsburgh at the end of August. But since the calendar flipped to September, Presley is 5-for-8 with a homer and two triples. He’s hitting .310 with two homers, five triples and 13 RBIs for the season.

Bobby Kielty’s comeback has gone well. The former Ole Miss standout, who was out of baseball for basically two years, has put up some decent numbers as a 35-year-old part-timer with San Diego’s Triple-A Tucson club. Kielty is batting .297 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs. He has also pitched in three games, with a 6.75 ERA to show for it. Where this comeback might lead isn’t clear. Kielty’s really not a kid anymore, and he has a surgically repaired knee from 2009. It’s hard to imagine him getting another major league shot. But he did have his day. The switch-hitter known for his unkempt red hair played in 599 big league games and batted .254 with 53 bombs. His last major league appearance came in the 2007 World Series, when he hit a pinch homer for Boston during its sweep of Colorado. Kielty played in the minors in 2008 and again at the start of ’09 before the knee injury shut him down. While flipping houses as a real estate broker in Riverside, Calif., he decided to try his hand — or arm — at pitching. He was working out at the local junior college last year when he got an offer to play again, as an outfielder, in the Puerto Rican Winter League. There he caught the eye of some big league clubs, and San Diego signed him. Alas, the Tucson season will be over soon. It’ll be interesting to see if Kielty’s comeback ends then, as well.