Eastern League All-Stars, North

Through high school and the early parts of college, I worked as a graphics coordinator in the television truck on sporting events for the station CN8. My job involved compiling the statistics and coming up with interesting tidbits on players so that the graphics operator could make the lower-thirds you see on-screen when hitters come to the plate. In going through some of my old papers yesterday, I stumbled across the rosters we were given at the 2003 Eastern League (AA) All-Star game. As I began down the list I found numerous players who are in the big leagues today, and regulars at that. Tonight we will examine the South roster, but for now, here are the players from the North roster that have made the majors.

1. Guillermo Quiroz, BAL, -0.97 WPA/LI in 50 games for the Orioles
2. Kelly Shoppach, CLE, 0.40 WPA/LI, leads AL catchers with 17 HR
3. Jason Bartlett, TB, -1.45 WPA/LI for the Rays, an everyday regular
4. Terry Tiffee, LAD, 1-4 in 5 PA this year, 54 G for MIN in 2005
5. Kevin Youkilis, BOS, 2.41 WPA/LI, All-Star
6. Gabe Gross, TB, 0.29 WPA/LI, acquired from Brewers earlier this year
7. Alex Rios, TOR, 0.66 WPA/LI, OPS from .814-.865 last three years
8. Kevin Correia, SF, been in majors since 2003, -0.95 WPA/LI this year
9. Jorge de la Rosa, COL, -0.94 WPA/LI, 4.05 FIP
10. Neal Musser, KC, made 17 appearances at a 6.04 FIP last year, just 1 scoreless inning in 2008
11. Chien-Ming Wang, NYY, career 3.90 FIP, 9.05 WPA/LI in 3+ big league seasons

Fifty percent of the players on this North roster are currently in the major leagues, with Youkilis and Wang headlining the group. There are a few others that had cups of coffee, such as Josh Rabe, and Mike Cervanek, but I will leave it to Marc to take a look at those who have failed to capitalize on their past minor league success. I tried my hardest to remember Youkilis and Wang back in 2003, but really could not draw out any real memories. It is safe to say, though, that I did not peg one as a key driving force on a world series team, or the other as a potential Yankees ace. Tonight we’ll take a look at the South roster, where fewer players have made the big leagues, but at least one all-star stands out.