Believe it or not, Eric Valent was once a popular attraction on the Bar Mitzvah circuit.
Of this list of attendees to the Second Annual Hot Stove Dinner & Auction with the Phillies to be hosted by the Williamsport Crosscutters, who stands out as the person that would prompt you to buy a ticket: Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas, Kyle Kendrick, Chris Coste, D.J. Flick, Eric Valent, Dusty Wathan and the Phillie Phanatic.
Okay, admittedly, CFL star Flick of the Grey Cup Champion Roughriders isn’t exactly a household name for most, but to me the name that sticks out like a sore thumb here is Eric Valent.
A one-time hot shot prospect (first round pick in 1998) for the Phillies, Valent appeared to be on the fast track after — in just his fourth pro season — he was named an International League All-Star after smacking 21 homers for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2001.
Unfortunately, it was all pretty well downhill for Valent after that. While he did see action in parts of five big league seasons, Valent was only really useful in one season (2004, when he was an extra outfielder for the Mets). The Phils gave up on him in August, 2003, dealing him to the Reds. He wound up in the Mets’ organization that offseason as a Rule 5 pick.
After a couple of seasons with New York, Valent was signed by the Padres to a minor league deal in 2006. However, after failing to make the team despite a solid Spring Training, Valent didn’t last long with Triple-A Portland, being set free after just 30 games. He went over to Japan to play 24 games before the end of the 2006 season, struggling badly (.189) with Tohoku.
The final tally: 205 major league games, .234 BA, 696 OPS. Valent wasn’t much better (.260) in his minor league career, despite a fast start that fanned hopes he was a future star.
After sitting out the 2007 season, Valent is back with the Phillies, having recently signed on in a player development capacity. Let’s pray, for the sake of the Phillies’ organization, that this is very much a case of ‘those who don’t know, teach.’
One-time hot shot prospect Matt Anderson was attempting a comeback in Mexico.
Remember Matt Anderson? You know, the first overall pick in the 1997 draft who was supposed to become one of the game’s top closers?
Well, he recently resurfaced, pitching winter ball with Hermosillo of the Mexican Pacific League as he attempts to make a comeback.
The 31-year-old righty has been out of the game since 2006 when he was absolutely shelled (8.74 ERA) in 26 appearances at Triple-A Fresno.
Anderson’s tale included an amazingly rapid ascension to the majors, in retrospect, probably his undoing (of course, his legendary control issues never really helped). He made his pro debut in 1998, and by the end of the year was in Motown, quickly establishing himself a solid, if wild, set-up man.
The real struggles began in 1999, but he did enjoy a pretty solid year in 2001 as the Tiger closer. Major injury issues, coupled with bouts of ineffectiveness plagued Anderson for the next few seasons.
The Tigers let him walk as a free agent after the 2004 season, and he would up in Colorado in 2005, but he was again ineffective at Triple-A, and was absolutely firestarter with the Rox, walking more than a batter per inning.
In 2006, after crashing and burning in the Giants’ system, Anderson found himself in Indy ball ” just a step away from being out of the game, and he pitched well enough at Bridgeport to fan the flames of hope that maybe he wasn’t done.
However, Anderson didn’t pitch at all last year.
And now, in the MPL, he continues to struggle with his control (three walks in 3 1/3 innings). Anderson simply can’t overpower hitters any longer, and with the walks still a major problem, it’s hard to envision a scenario where a major league organization gives him another chance. He dropped two decisions in three apperances last month and has not pitched since. It’s unclear if he got hurt, or simply decided to leave the team, but MinorLeagueBaseball.com still lists him as active, for what it’s worth.
While you kind of have to feel for him, given how disappointing his career has been based on the expectations, and how great a story it would be if Anderson could finally carve out some success for himself, the likelihood of that happening is pretty damn slim.
It may just be the Rockland County Hall of Fame, but John Flaherty deserves kudos if for nothing more than talking Carl Pavano off a ledge.
With the Sox in town this week, it’s been a busy few days as I scurry back and forth to the Rogers Centre in between trying to pack (the RotoWidow and I are moving shortly) and get some’ack’work done.
But I couldn’t let this monumental tidbit skate by without some acknowledgement as I see that former Red Sox catcher John Flaherty has been elected into the Hall of Fame’er, the Rockland County Hall of Fame. Still, an honour is an honour and he deserves to be lauded for his lengthy if somewhat undistinguished big league career.
Many may remember that Benito Santiago set not only a rookie mark but the record for all catchers by hitting in 34 straight games in 1987. But how many could cite Flaherty as having the second-longest hitting streak by a catcher in major league history? Yup, his 27-game streak in 1996 definitely sticks out as a highlight in a 14-year career.
Drafted by the Sox in the 25th round in 1988, he played briefly with Boston before a 1994 deal to Detroit. In all, Flaherty played for five teams, amassing 849 hits, including 80 homers, and driving in 395 runs. His best MLB season was probably 1999, when as the Rays’ starting catcher, he had 124 hits in 446 at-bats, including 19 doubles and 14 homers, while producing 71 RBI and recording a decent 725 OPS.
He was never much of an offensive threat, but like many backstops who morph into ideal back-ups in their later years, he had some pop and could be counted on to stay ready for his one or two games per week.
Last year, Flaherty came back to where it all began, signing a minor-league deal with Boston before he realized that catching Tim Wakefield was no way to end his career and he decided to retire during spring training at the age of 38.
Flaherty, whose final three active seasons were as a Yankee, is now working as an analyst for the YES network.
After two years with Lancaster of the Indy Atlantic League, Jose Ortiz is hitting up a storm in Mexico.
When I think back to the spring of 2001, I can’t help but remember the fervor in my keeper league over Jose Ortiz. An Oakland A’s minor league second baseman, he had surged forward in 2000 and climbed to the top of the heap as the consensus best available player in the minor league component of our league’s annual draft.
And why the hell not? After all, he was coming off a season in which he was not only a PCL All-Star and the league MVP, but was a Triple-A All-Star and was named a Baseball America First Team Minor League All-Star; Ortiz was further honoured as the Triple-A Player of the Year and the Oakland A’s Minor League Player of the Year. In a nutshell, the dude was hot stuff.
Well, nearly a decade has elapsed since then, and despite some impressive numbers overseas, in independent ball and more recently in Mexico, Ortiz hasn’t had a sniff of organized ball in the past five years. This naturally leads me to the obvious question: what the hell ever happened to Jose Ortiz?
Signed by the A’s out of the Dominican Republic as a 17-year-old shortstop back in 1994, Ortiz made pretty quick work of the A’s minor league system, showing immediate promise with a .300 mark in the Dominican Summer League followed by an even more impressive debut in North America when he batted .330 in the Arizona League in 1996.
Over the next three years, Ortiz continued to climb the ladder as the club slowly transitioned him to second base with Miguel Tejada ahead of him at short. By 1999, Ortiz arrived in Triple-A at the age of 22. It was about this time that injuries first started to be a factor as he missed significant time in both 1998 and 1999. However, he remained pretty productive, displaying a power-speed potential that had prospect hunters starting to pay attention.
In 2000, of course, is when Ortiz really gained prominence, putting up a monster year at Triple-A with 34 doubles, five triples and 24 homers in 131 games. He was caught stealing just nine times in 31 tries, struck out only 64 times and hit .351 with a .575 slugging percentage. Later that season, he made his major league debut. Small wonder the owners in my league were frothing over him, passing over prospects like Mark Teixeira, Roy Oswalt, Jimmy Rollins and Albert Pujols to grab Ortiz. For reference sake, I did not have a first rounder that year, taking Chin Hui-Tsao at No. 18 with my second-round selection (not my finest hour, clearly).
The following year is when things started to unravel for Ortiz. Even though his bat was major league ready, he spent most of the season at Triple-A, seeing action in just 11 games at Oakland. Apparently, Frank Menechino was blocking Ortiz’s ability to play everyday (which is just plain sad, when you think about it), and in July, the A’s leveraged Ortiz’s prospect status in a three-team deal to help land Jermaine Dye. Smooth move, Billy Beane.
The trade sent Ortiz to Colorado, which seemed like a major boon to his fantasy value. Not only did he get to suddenly play every day, but he got to do so in Coors Field half the time (and of course, this vastly predated the humidor days).
Unfortunately, the Rox didn’t seem overly impressed with what they got. They gave him plenty of action (almost 400 at-bats from mid-2001 through the end of 2002), but a lingering hamstring injury slowed him in 2002 and caused his power to go AWOL, and Colorado thought he was not quick enough to be a regular in the field. Plus, Ortiz’s lapses on defense and undisciplined approach on offense frustrated the club. When he was in Triple-A Colorado Springs, the organization tried to convert him into a utility infielder, getting Ortiz his first action at third, as well as his more customary shortstop and second base positions.
Finally, the Rox released him in November 2002. In 136 big league games and 449 at-bats, he wound up with 109 hits, 15 doubles, 14 homers, 51 RBI, six steals, one time caught stealing, 35 walks, 74 strikeouts, a .305 OBP and .379 SLG.
Ortiz was offered some decent coin to head over to Japan and he opted for go that route instead of trying to scare up a minor league deal. In two years with the Orix Blue Wave, he flashed his power, slamming 57 dingers. Yet, no offers came to return to affiliated ball.
Undaunted, he returned to North America and spent the next two seasons playing third base for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Independent Atlantic League. When he signed with the team prior to their debut season in 2005, Ortiz was the first former top prospect Lancaster had ever landed. He wasted no time establishing himself as a force, batting over .340 with almost an RBI per game before his season ended in May with a torn biceps tendon. Apparently, Ortiz’s quick start had generated attention from the Indians, who were thinking about signing him to play third base for the big league club. But the injury nixed that plan.
Last year, Ortiz was able to play in 101 games and he drove in 80 runs in an All-Star season for Lancaster. He went off to play winter ball in Mexico, doing extremely well there before signing with Saraperos del Saltillo of the Mexican League, his current employer.
He’s now closing in on age 30, but judging by Ortiz’s play in Mexico, he may yet get another shot at the majors. He’s 46-for-104 (over .440) so far this season, with eight doubles, seven homers, 21 RBI. He has a .721 SLG and 1184 OPS. In a stretch of 132 games spread out over his final half-season in the Atlantic League, the Mexican Winter Ball season and the first couple weeks of the Mexican League season, he’s batting .324 and has clouted 40 homers with 117 RBI. Is someone going to sign this dude, or what?
Who knows? Perhaps Ortiz will use his Mexican League experience as a springboard back to the majors similar to what Julio Franco did. Or maybe he’ll go down as the worst first overall minor league pick anyone has ever made in my keeper league.
Ty Howington is gone, but let’s hope he’s not forgotten for the sake of the Reds and Homer Bailey.
My keeper league has a minor league system which is so freaking deep thanks to these rules that allow you to protect farmhands for up to five years. So every now and then a name pops up that is truly a blast from the past.
This happened most recently at our draft last month when the commissioner was reading out the list of unprotected players. Then, all of sudden, he said his name…Ty Howington. I hadn’t heard that name uttered in so long that I made a note to myself to find out what the hell ever happened to Ty Howington.
Cincinnati’s first round pick in 1999, taken 14th overall out of a high school in Vancouver, Washington, Howington was a power lefty projected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm that could anchor the Reds’ staff for years to come.
As the Reds were wont to do in that day, the team had this tender young arm — a pitcher they had invested $1.75 million in — on an accelerated program, starting Howington out at full-season Low-A ball in his first pro season at the age of 19.
The 6′5″, 220-pounder struggled with his command in his pro debut in 2000 in the Midwest League, walking 86 against 119 strikeouts in 141 2/3 innings, while going 5-15.
Unfortunately, Howington would never throw that many innings in any one season again.
The following year, Howington was much improved, pitching very well at three levels, although he had more issues with his control each step up the ladder. This was also the first season in which he had to miss some time. Still, in reaching Double-A as a 20-year-old, he established himself as the Reds’ top pitching prospect and one of the more promising young arms in baseball.
In 2002, Howington began at High-A and again reached Double-A, but his results at both levels slipped thanks to elbow problems that limited him to 17 starts for the season. Howington actually improved his control that year, but was simply more hittable as his velocity kept slipping, a fact most easily identified by severely reduced K rates.
The next season, it was more of the same. The season got off to a shaky start as tendonitis in his shoulder slowed his spring training. Howington pitched decently at High-A and then was smacked around at Double-A after a July promotion. Injuries limited his ability to do much at Double-A, however, and in just 14 1/3 innings he issued 20 walks, so clearly all was not right.
The Reds must have been getting this sense by then as well, as they inexplicably left him off their 40-man roster that fall. Stranger yet, no one else took a chance on him.
That’s when the shoulder problems really started becoming major. In May 2004, Howington required surgery to repair a torn labrum and wound up missing the entire season. In spring training 2005, the Reds had to shut him down again with stiffness in his shoulder, a problem that again led to surgery in April to loosen his shoulder capsule.
Howington didn’t return until August, making three rehab starts in the GCL.
At the height of his promise, Howington looked like the future ace of a heralded Reds’ staff that was projected to include Bobby Basham, Chris Gruler, Ryan Mottl and Dustin Moseley. Of course, of that fivesome, only Moseley has found his way to the majors, and he did so as an Angel. The others either fizzled out (Mottl) or, like Howington, were sidetracked by injuries (Basham and Gruler). Reds’ fans know all too well the difficulty this organization has had in developing young arms in recent years.
The lessons of the Ty Howington story are very much relevant today as the Reds find themselves with another top drawer arm in Homer Bailey, the top pitching prospect in the game, in our opinion. Cincy can ill afford to let another glorious opportunity to produce a potential staff ace slip through its hands because of injury, abuse, mismanagement or any other reason.
As for Howington, last March, the Reds finally clued in on the fact that incessant health woes would prohibit him from ever delivering on his promise, so they released him. Almost a year to the day later, his owner in my keeper league dumped him, a signal that his career was truly over.
Now just 26, it appears Howington is out of baseball for good. In five minor league seasons, he went 22-35, 4.08, walking 231 and striking out 414 in 454 1/3 innings. In the end, a career WHIP of 1.45 is all you need to know about Howington. Obviously injuries played a huge rule in that, but the fact that he struggled with his command right from the get go suggests that Howington would have had a tough time living up to his draft status even if healthy.
Even more shocking, you’d actually have to shell out $6 to buy an autographed Ty Howington baseball card. Apparently, someone out there still thinks he has some value.
