San Diego Padres prospect Beamer Weems lived through what every baseball player fears. On July 5th Tulsa Drillers pitcher Dustin Molleken had a 95 MPH fastball get away from him, and it ended up drilling Weems square in the face. In a split second the San Antonio Missions shortstop’s future hung in the balance. The impact resulted in two hours of surgery, 29 screws, and seven plates to repair broken bones in his eye socket, nasal cavity, cheekbone, and jaw. In the story Weems talks about the ordeal, describes what he felt at the moment of impact, his thankfulness for the full recovery that is expected, and looking forward to getting back on the field in 2012. It’s a great read.
Weems’ unflinching resolve to play ball MySanAntonio.com
Concussions and an inner ear disease known as bilateral vestibulopathy have ended the once promising career of San Diego Padres shortstop prospect Drew Cumberland. The Florida native was forced to hang up his cleats at age 22 after battling excruciating headaches and dizziness he had been experiencing since high school became so severe that doctors feared for his future well being had his career continued. Reading the fascinating article below makes it all the more remarkable that Cumberland was a standout on the diamond as a pro, quickly establishing himself as one of the top hitting prospects in the Padres organization. His best season as a pro came in 2010 when he hit a combined .350 with 18 Doubles, 4 Triples, 7 Home Runs, and 21 Stolen Bases in 75 games between the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm and the Double-A San Antonio Missions. The performance earned him a spot in the 2010 Futures Game. In the story Cumberland talks about hiding the awful effects of the condition for as long as he possibly could, the nightmare of pain he endured on a daily basis during his career, and coming to terms with moving on. It’s a must read article.
One-time prospect dealing with his bad break — MLB.com
UPDATE: Cumberland is going to try to continue his career in 2012 after finding that his condition can be controlled. Best of luck in his comeback!!! You can read the full story: Cumberland has opportunity to resume career — MLB.com
The San Diego Padres have called up top third base prospect James Darnell after Chase Headley was placed on the 15 day DL with a fractured finger. The 24 year old was a second round pick of the Padres in the 2008 draft out of the University of South Carolina. 2011 has been a breakout season for Darnell. He started the year with the Double-A San Antonio Missions where he hit .333 with 25 Doubles, 17 Home Runs, and 62 RBI’s in 76 games. Since being promoted to Tucson, Darnell has hit .272 with 4 Doubles, 6 Home Runs, and 13 RBI’s. Darnell hit over .300 in each of his four seasons in the minors with the exception of 2010 when he hit .271 during an injury plagued season. Look for Darnell to get a number of at-bats for the foreseeable future.
Long after retirement and after a few years of coaching high school ball, Jimmy Jones picked up the phone and called his old pitching coach Bob Cluck, who was a consultant to the San Diego Padres, with an interest in coaching in the minor leagues. Soon after the conversation Jones, who debuted with the Padres, and pitched for the Astros, Yankees, and Expos before ending his career in 1993, found himself back with San Diego as a pitching coach on their Rookie League team in Arizona. The Padres have thought highly enough of the work Jones did in Arizona to promote him to Double-A where he is currently the pitching coach for the San Antonio Missions. In the story, Jones, who was the 3rd overall pick in the 1982 draft (two picks ahead of Dwight Gooden), talks about how he learned from the Hall of Fame teammates he played with in the bigs, coaching some of the Padres top pitching prospects, and what it means to coach within the organization he made his major league debut. It’s a great read.
Former Astros RHP Jimmy Jones making strong impact as Double-A pitching coach — Examiner.com
Texas Rangers pitcher Joseph Wieland threw a No Hitter on Friday against the San Antonio Missions in Texas League action. The only thing separating Wieland from a perfect game was a seventh inning walk to Andy Parrino who was then erased on a caught stealing. Wieland faced the minimum 27 batters in the game. The final out was a ground out to second by Padres prospect Dan Robertson. The 21 year old right hander put up a final line of 9IP, 0ER, 0H, 1BB, 7K’s, and picked up his 4th win since debuting with the Double-A Frisco Roughriders during last week in June. He was 6-3 with a 2.10ERA in 13 starts for the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans prior to the promotion. Wieland was a fourth round pick of the Rangers in the 2008 draft. You can follow Joe Wieland on twitter @JWieland108
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