Friday, Aug. 07, 2009

O'Malley, Bonderman make news

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

This morning's edition of the Baseball America Prospect Report noted that Southridge grad Shawn O'Malley went 2-for-5 with three runs scored Thursday for Tampa's High-A affiliate in the Florida State League.

The shortstop's performance for the Charlotte Stone Crabs included his ninth double of the season, but here's a bigger stat — his 37th stolen base. That ranks third, 13 behind the league leader.

More importantly, his .384 on-base percentage is second in the FSL.

He's batting .265 this season, so the 21-year-old has been holding steady since July 17 when Herald sports editor Jeff Morrow published his snapshot of all those with a Mid-Columbia connection in professional baseball.

Last fall, I enjoyed chatting with O'Malley on the phone for my feature on both he and former Southridge teammate Moose Mattair in preparation for the World Series.

In other news, my friends at Rotowire.com tipped me off to the comeback trail of Pasco product Jeremy Bonderman, whom the division-leading Detroit Tigers would love to see return to their pitching staff.

The right-hander is trying to fine-tune his split-fingered fastball and given up on a change-up. Rotowire's nightly analysis package for baseball, which is available via subscription, notes this splitter "could help offset some of the lost velocity he has endured since undergoing surgery last year."

On a side note, the Detroit News posted a "CyberSurvey" asking Tigers fans if they approved of the trade that brought Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners and sent Luke French to Seattle.

As of this morning, it was 78% yes, and only 22% no. We will see how that changes after his start Sunday in the Motor City vs. the Minnesota Twins.