5/1/10 Odds & Ends - Daniel Stange is a Major Leaguer edition

Before Stange wore a D-Backs cap, he wore this one.

Can you believe that it's already May? That means that in little over a month it'll be time to play ball. I am getting really antsy here. It's so close I can taste it. But there's been plenty of news around the league, so let's not waste any more time...

- First and foremost, we've got another member of the ABL to MLB club this week! 2004 Mat-Su Miner Daniel Stange made his major league debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night. In his first (and only, so far) outing he pitched 1.0 perfect innings of relief. In the minors this year, Stange had 8 strikeouts, 5 walks, and a 2.89 era over 9.1 innings of relief for the D-Backs AAA affiliate, the Reno Aces.

- On the other end of the pro pipeline, we've got a long-time Anchorage Bucs guy who is racking up the accolades down the stretch toward the MLB draft in June. Christian Bergman (Bucs, 2006-2009) produced a one-hit complete game shutout for UC Irvine last weekend. The very first UC Davis batter he faced reached base; he was caught in a pickle and after that it was lights out. 26 consecutive batters sat down. His performance yielded three awards: National Player of the Week by College Baseball Insider, Primetime Performer by College Baseball 360, and National All-Star by the College Baseball Foundation. We also mentioned Bergman as a solid draft prospect in our list of Anchorage Bucs 2010 draft eligibles.



- Alaska Grown player and 2010 Bucs recruit Colin Zimmerman got a rare start with Hawaii - Hilo last Friday and didn't waste the opportunity, going one-for-two with two runs. I didn't post this in the preseason wrap this week because he wouldn't have stood out much along with the other great stat lines, but in a way I'm more stoked about him. Stoked because he's mostly come off the bench this year, and also stoked because he's a local guy. Maybe the Vulcans should give him another start down the stretch, huh?

- In local news, the Glacier Pilots have announced their 2010 youth baseball camp. It's open to girls and boys ages 8 and up and all you need is a bat, glove & cap. It's totally free, and runs from June 7th thru June 11th. That's five days, and if I understand it correctly, you can attend whichever days you want or even all five. Participants also get a tee shirt, and if they wear it to the Pilots & Bucs game on the 11th they'll get in free for the Kids Night promotion. All the info is on their website, or you can click here and go directly to the PDF registration form.

- Have you submitted your question to the ABL Mailbag yet? I have gotten some good ones already, I just need a few more to round it out. In case you've missed it before, you e-mail me a question and I answer it. When I get enough good ones, I write them up into an article and post it. Pretty simple! So why not send in your burning question today?