ALUMNI REPORT
CRAIG BRESLOW
JOHN LINDSEY
2011 NEW JERSEY JACKALS MEDIA GUIDE
RAUL VALDES
2010 marked a banner year for the New Jersey Jackals organization. Craig Breslow, who has been pitching in the majors since 2005, was joined by John Lindsey and Raul Valdes, who each made their major league debuts last summer. Since 2006, 22 Jackals have been sold to major league organizations, including six since the end of the 2009 season. At the conclusion of 2010, the Jackals boasted three alumni in the major leagues – more than any other independent organization. ALUMNI NEWS AND NOTES
ARGENIS REYES
STUART POMERANZ
JON HUNTON
JORDAN NEWTON
TIMO PEREZ
SHAWN RIGGANS
JACKALS SOLD SINCE 2006 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
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Jordan Newton Argenis Reyes Michael L. Jones Myron Leslie Stuart Pomeranz Craig Maddox Rob Semerano Sandy Madera Jemel Spearman Tom Atlee Guillermo Reyes Mike Vicaro Rusty Tucker Hunter Davis Jaime Cerda Brad Voyles Jason Wylie Alex Fernandez Raul Valdes John Lindsey Isaac Pavlik Sandy Madera
PIT BOS BOS NYY COL ATL NYY BOS WAS MIL ARZ COL MIL TB SEA FLA PHI PIT NYM LAD CHI (NL) BAL
While Breslow is the only former Jackal to begin 2011 in the majors, several former Jackals are making their marks in affiliated baseball as the season gets underway. Craig Breslow, currently in his third year working out of the Oakland A’s bullpen, enters his sixth season overall at the major league level. In 2010, Breslow appeared in over 70 big league contests for the second straight season, posting a 4-4 record and a 3.01 ERA in 75 outings for the Oakland Athletics. In five professional seasons, the workhorse left-handed specialist owns a 2.87 ERA over 228 games. After earning his first trip to the majors last September, John Lindsey returns to the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, in 2011. Last season with Albuquerque, Lindsey won the Pacific Coast League batting title when he hit .353 with 25 home runs and 97 RBIs. The Hattiesburg, Miss., native spent parts of the 2005 and 2006 seasons with New Jersey, where he batted .315 with 19 home runs in 125 games. Raul Valdes, a Cuban defector, begins the 2011 season in the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds starting rotation after signing with the St. Louis Cardinals during the offseason. With the New York Mets in 2010, Valdes appeared in 38 games out of the bullpen, going 3-3 with a 4.91 ERA. Valdes was also lights out with Triple-A Buffalo in 2010, posting a 3.00 ERA with a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio while working primarily as a starter. Valdes also appeared in seven major league spring training games for the Cardinals. Outfielder Timo Perez, a Detroit Tigers’ farmhand, enters 2011 with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. Perez, an eight-year major league veteran, joined the Jackals late in the 2009 season and hit .337 in 21 games. Stuart Pomeranz, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, begins 2011 in the Dodgers system with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts. After posting an ERA of 6.50 as a starter with the Jackals in 2009, the former second round draft pick of the Cardinals resurrected his career last season at Double-A Tulsa by moving to the bullpen and striking out 53 batters in 49 innings to compliment a 3.67 ERA. Pomeranz also appeared in three major league spring training games with the Dodgers this season, compiling a 3.86 ERA. A member of the 2010 Jackals, Shawn Riggans begins 2011 with the Double-A Huntsville Stars after signing with the Milwaukee Brewers over the winter. Riggans, who played 64 major league games over four seasons with Tampa Bay (2006-2009), batted .328 with 26 RBIs in 34 games with New Jersey last year. First baseman Chris Garcia, who joined the Jackals late in the 2009 season, takes the field with the Single-A Rome Braves to start the season. Garcia spent the past two seasons in the independent ranks with the Jackals and Shreveport-Bossier Captains of the American Association.
2010 CAN-AM LEAGUE ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR