Nuno gets the call

Vidal Nuno became the second former Wild Things player to get the call to "The Show" when he was promoted to the major leagues Saturday by the New York Yankees.

The Yankees placed starting pitcher Ivan Nova on the disabled list and replaced him on the roster with the left-handed Nuno. Nova left his start Friday night against Toronto with elbow pain.

Nuno tore it up in spring training as a non-roster invitee in major league camp. We even suggested on this blog that Nuno had a decent chance to make the major leagues out of spring training, even though he was not on the 40-man roster. Heck, Baseball America didn't even rank Nuno among the Yankees' top 30 prospects entering this season.

Assigned to Class AAA, Nuno went 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four starts. He struck out 26 batters and walked only two in 23 1/3 innings.

Nuno was the Wild Things' opening day starter in 2011. He made six starts with Washington before having his contract purchased by New York, and since then has made an amazing rise from the Frontier League to the major leagues in only 22 months and 50 outings.

With Washington, Nuno was 2-3 with a 2.83 ERA and had 34 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings.

An interesting note to Nuno's short career in Washington: When Nuno pitched for the Wild Things in their 2011 season opener at Joliet, the starting pitcher that night for the Slammers was Billy Petrick, who had appeared in eight games out of the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs in 2007. This makes me wonder, when was the last time a Frontier League game featured two starting pitchers who made it to the major leagues? Was this the last time? Was this the only time? Those are questions that perhaps only the Frontier League office can answer.

If Nuno gets into a game with the Yankees, then he will become the first former Wild Things player to actually play in a major league game. You might recall that pitcher Tom Cochran (2006-07) was called up by the Cincinnati Reds for two games in 2011, but he did not appear in either game before being sent back to the minors. Cochran is currently pitching for Reading, the Philadelphia Phillies' Class AA affiliate.

Boz is back

The Wild Things announced Thursday that their coaching staff has been finalized with the addition of Bob Bozzuto, who will be returning to the Washington after a one year hiatus.

This will be Boz's seventh season with the Wild Things.

Bozzuto, who is the athletic director at North Allegheny High School, has managed successful teams in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, the Erie Shores Summer Collegiate League, the Tri-State Summer Collegiate League.

“I am very happy to return to the Wild Things,” Bozzuto said. “I will work tirelessly with the coaches and players to ensure we have a successful team this season. Our fans are some of the best in professional baseball and I look forward to seeing many familiar faces in the stands. The goal is to bring a championship to the people of Washington.”

Road less traveled

There is one thing about the Frontier League that typically leaves nobody happy.

The schedule.

Everybody -- from team owners to managers to players to fans -- thinks the schedulemaker or the league is out to the get their team because of the way the schedule is designed. Happens every year.

The common complaints are too many long road trips without a day off, an unbalanced schedule, too many off days used as travel days, too many long 3-day trips, not enough weekend home games, too many home games early in the season, etc.

Everybody has a complaint, and some of them are valid. The job of the Frontier League schedulemaker is a thankless one. It's also difficult because some teams in the league have to schedule around other events, such as high school, college and youth league tournaments that are played at their home ballpark. For example, I'm told that it's especially difficult to work around dates at Evansville's Bosse Field.

If we're comparing schedules for this season and 2012, then the schedulemaker did a better job this time around, though there are still some puzzling stretches for most teams. For example, Washington, Lake Erie and Traverse City each make two trips to St. Louis. That should never happen, but at least Lake Erie and Traverse City have one of their trips combined with a stop at Southern Illinois, and the Wild Things go to Gateway and then stop at Evansville on the way back to Washington.

Last year, Washington had the schedule from hell in August. Each road trip had at least one 500-mile trip. Three of the August off days had to be used as travel days. This year's August schedule has only one travel/off day and even includes two consecutive off days (Aug. 5 & 6).

Most of the Frontier League teams will be spending less time on the road this season, and not just because the traveling Greys have replaced the London Rippers. While having a traveling team means fewer road games for every other team in the league, the schedulemaker also did a better job of eliminating many brutal road trips that dotted 2012 schedules. For example, Florence had a schedule that called for the Freedom to go from Florence to St. Louis to London and then back to St. Louis. There are no trips that bad this year. Every team does have at least one oddity in the schedule. The team that might have more seems to be Lake Erie, which has a June schedule that is 3 at home, then 3 away, repeat and repeat and repeat. That's in addition to the two trips to St. Louis.

Eleven of the 13 returning FL teams will be spending less time on the road this year, thanks in large part to no London and the addition of the Greys. The team that came out ahead in this area is Washington, which will travel 3,417 fewer miles. That's at least 53 fewer hours spent on the bus.

The following is the mileage each team will travel this year along with their difference from 2012 (Washington led in miles last year with 11,345). When calculating the mileage for each team, I did not take into account if a team travels back and forth each night to play a close rival. For example, when Windy City plays at Joliet, it might opt to drive the 52 miles roundtrip each day of the series instead of one 26-mile trip and three-night stay at the Fairfield Inn in Joliet. I credit Windy City for one 26-mile trip.

Miles   Team  Difference from 2012
11,990 - Greys (NA)
9,390 - Lake Erie (674 more)
9,379 - Traverse City (1,350 less)
8,044 - River City (197 less)
7,928 - Washington (3,417 less)
7,907 - Southern Illinois (1,366 less)
7,846 - Florence (302 less)
7,490 - Evansville (27 less)
7,304 - Rockford (283 less)
7,197 - Gateway (492 less)
7,013 - Schaumburg (268 more)
6,194 - Joliet (137 less)
5,677 - Normal (578 less)
5,650 - Windy City (707 less)

What's been happening ...

Catching up with news from the Wild Things and around the Frontier League:

The Wild Things made a flurry of roster moves this week, including re-signing Jim Vahalik, their starting catcher from last year, and trading four players in three separate deals and acquiring more Experienced pitchers.

Vahalik (6-2, 192) was acquired by Washington last July in a trade with the London Rippers. The deal was finalized minutes before the London franchise ceased operations. The former University of Toledo catcher batted .239 with three home runs and 33 RBI in his first year in the Frontier League.
After the season, Vahalik had his contract purchased by the Baltimore Orioles, but he was released late last month in the final round of cuts during minor-league spring training.

“He had a good spring with the Orioles, but they decided to make him a first baseman,” Wild Things manager Bart Zeller said. “Jim wants to catch and will receive every chance to be our backstop when the season starts. Jim is definitely a gamer and brings great intensity to the game.”

With Vahalik returning, Washington then traded catcher Pat Trettel and pitcher Chandler Barnard to the El Paso Diablos of the American Association in exchange for right-handed pitcher Shawn Blackwell and a player to be named.

Trettel, a North Allegheny High School and Seton Hill University product, was acquired in an offseason trade. He played in the Frontier League for two seasons with Normal and then to a team in the American Association. Barnard was 1-4 with two saves and a 2.47 ERA in 25 games with Washington last year.

Trettel became expendable after Vahalik was re-signed. Barnard, I noticed, was one of two players on Washington's roster that had not been listed in the Frontier League transaction as having signed a contract for 2013 (the other is first baseman Corey LeVier).

"Chandler Barnard had requested to be moved to a more experienced league because of his age, and we wanted to see if we could oblige," Zeller explained. "El Paso called about their availability of Pat Trettel because they needed an everyday catcher. With the release of Jim Vahalik from the Orioles, this deal had to be made."

Blackwell (6-5, 195) was drafted in the 24th round out of high school by the Texas Rangers. He spent three years in the Rangers’ system, pitching in 20 games at the Class A level last season. He had 127 strikeouts and only 43 walks in his career.

“Shawn Blackwell is a strike-thrower,” Zeller said. “He has three years of experience in the Rangers organization and comes highly recommended by their scouting team. Shawn is only 22 with tremendous upside.”

The Wild Things also traded outfielder Matt Fleishman back to the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in exchange for a player to be named. Fleishman played in 17 games with Long Island last year. He signed with Washington in December.

* Washington reacquired pitcher Jhonny Montoya from Lancaster of the Atlantic League, but only for a brief period of time. Montoya wasn't going to to make Lancaster's opening day roster -- the Atlantic League began Thursday -- so he was dealt back to the Wild Things, who traded him to Kansas City of the American Association in exchange for a player to be named.

The Wild Things seem to be cornering the market on players to be named. In a little more than a year, they have made trades from which they are still owed 9 players (4 from Roswell of the Pecos League, 2 from Alpine of the Pecos League, 1 from Kansas City, 1 from Long Island and 1 from El Paso).

* Washington announced today the signing of Will Scott, a right-handed pitcher from Marietta, Ga., who spent three years in the San Diego Padres system. Scott was drafted three times by three teams before singing with San Diego out of Walters State Community College in Tennesse. He pitched in three games last year for the Padres' Class AAA affiliate in Tuscon.

* Trettel and Barnard each were classified as Experienced by Frontier League roster rules. Blackwell and Scott also are Experienced, but Vahalik is an R2. The Wild Things are still 4 over the opening day limit for Experienced players.

* The Southern Illinois Miners made a splash Thursday by signing pitcher Hayden Simpson, the Chicago Cubs' first-round draft pick in 2010. Simpson spent two forgettable years in the Cubs' system after being drafted out of Southern Arkansas University. He had a combined 5-17 record in two seasons and never advanced past Class A.

Simpson was the 16th overall pick in 2010, the same draft that yielded Jameson Taillon in the first round for the Pirates. Simpson was taken nine spots behind Matt Harvey, who is 3-0 with an 0.82 ERA for the New York Mets.

I can recall at least two former first-round draft picks -- outfielder Kellen Kulbacki (Lake Erie) and first baseman Jon Poterson (Chillicothe) playing in the Frontier League, but at No. 16 Simpson is the highest such selection. Kulbacki and Poterson were compensatory picks at the end of the first round.

Simpson received a reported $1.06 million signing bonus from the Cubs.

* Wild Things ownership's plan to put a franchise in Bridgeport, W.Va., seemed to get a boost last Saturday night when the West Virginia legislature failed to pass the Morgantown Tax Increment Financing Plan. Actually, the bill never advanced to the point where a vote was taken.

The TIF was to create a special tax district to generate funds to help pay for a new ballpark for West Virginia University and a New York-Penn League team that will begin play in Morgantown during 2015. A new interchange on I-79 also would be funded by the TIF.

The bill seemed to die when it was tied to a pay raise for magistrates across West Virginia. That was good news for the Wild Things and Bridgeport, which is trying to secure funding for a yet-to-be-built ballpark. However, that good news didn't last an entire week.

A special session called by West Virginia's governor Wednesday resulted in the TIF being passed.

Where are they now?

Here's an update on the former Wild Things players and coaches who were in minor-league spring training last month, along with updates on several local players:

Vidal Nuno - Opening night starter for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) of the Class AAA International League. Nuno has a 0-0 record and 2.31 ERA in 2 starts. He has allowed 6 hits in 11 2/3 innings.

Tom Cochran - Starting pitcher is in extended spring training with the Phillies.

Alan Williams - Relief pitcher for the Huntsville Stars (Brewer) of the Class AA Southern League. He is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 4 strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings.

Darin Everson - Former Wild Things manager is hitting coach for Class AA Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League.

Mark Williams - Relief pitcher for Brevard County Manatees (Brewers) of the Class A Florida State League. Williams is 0-0, 7.36 in 3 appearances.

Mark Dewey - Former Wild Things pitching coach has the same job for Brevard County (Brewers).

Robbie Garvey - An outfielder for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers) of the Class A California League. He is batting .357 (5-for-14) and is 1-for-3 in stolen-base attempts.

Nathan Striz - Relief pitcher for the Salem Red Sox of the Class A Carolina League. Striz has pitched in 2 games and has a save.

Chris Smith - Finally found out that Smith is in extended spring training rehabbing a forearm injury.

Former Wild Things second baseman Ryan Ellis (pictured) is manager of the St. Lucie Mets of the Class A Florida State League.

Catcher Jim Vahalik (Orioles) and Alfonso Yevoli were released at the end of spring training. Yevoli has re-signed with the Wild Things. Is Vahalik soon to follow?

Three former Peters Township High School players:

Jordan Jankowski - A relief pitcher for the Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros) of the Class A Midwest League. J.J. has pitched in one game, allowing one run over 3 2/3 innings.

Justin Bianco - Outfielder and former 3rd-round draft pick is in extended spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Jimmy Rider - A key player in Kent State's drive to the College World Series last year, Rider is an infielder who is currently in extended spring training with the Pirates.

Logjam of experience

New Wild Things manager Bart Zeller said he was looking for a starting pitcher with affiliated experience to add to his rotation, and it seems he found one in righthander Shawn Sanford (pictured), who the club announced Wednesday has signed a contract. Sanford played four seasons in the San Francisco Giants system, advancing to Class AAA last year.

Sanford, of Vorhees, N.J., was drafted twice, in the 43rd round by Texas out of high school in 2006, and by the Giants in the 13th round out of South Florida University in 2009. Sanford had a 20-25 record and 3.53 ERA in the Giants system. His best season was 2011 when he went 10-10 with a 2.55 ERA and struck out 107 in 169 2/3 innings with Class A Augusta of the South Atlantic League.  He walked only 1.6 hitters per nine innings.

Last year, he was 6-8 for Class A San Jose of the California League and went 0-3 with a 4.74 ERA  in four starts for Class AAA Fresno.

“We are excited about having Shawn Sanford as part of the Wild Things pitching staff,” manager Bart Zeller said. “He was a 13th round draft pick … and clearly made his mark. … Shawn’s desire to return to affiliated baseball, and our commitment to do all we can to make that happen is the primary reason he selected the Wild Things.”

Sanford has experience as both a closer and a starter. At South Florida, he had 25 career saves over three years. He had 14 saves with the Giants.

The addition of Sanford brings the Wild Things' roster to, by my count, 35 players. Sanford is the 18th player classified as Experience or Veteran by Frontier League roster rules. Each team is limited to 13 such players on the active roster when the regular-season begins, which means there will be plenty of competition at some positions during spring training. One Experienced player, outfielder Mario Yepez, has been placed on the 60-day disabled list, which means Washington is only over the limit by four players.

Washington will be required to draft at least two players at the Frontier League tryout, which will be held later this month in Sauget, Ill. It's likely that each of those players will be rookies.

Yevoli back in the fold

The Wild Things have re-signed a key member of their bullpen from last season. Left-handed pitcher Alfonso Yevoli will return to Washington for the 2013 Frontier League season that begins next month.

Yevoli was released by the Atlanta Braves at the end of spring training. He had his contract purchased by Atlanta during the offseason.

Last year, Yevoli had a 1-2 record and 2.62 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings for the Wild Things. Yevoli was scored upon in only one of his last 17 outings (21 IP, 11 hits, 2 walks, 24 strikeouts, 0.86 ERA).

“As an opponent, we hated to see Al trot out from the bullpen in the late innings. He carved up every opponent and he put up filthy numbers last season,” said new Wild Things manager Bart Zeller, who managed the Joliet Slammers for the last two years.

“We know he was disappointed to be released, but now our goal is to help him get back to affiliated baseball quickly. He will be a valuable asset in the late innings.”

Yevoli, a Palm Coast, Fla., native, pitched last spring for Tennessee Wesleyan, which won the 2012 NAIA World Series.

Wild Things tryout set

The Wild Things will hold their annual open tryout Saturday, April 27 at Consol Energy Park. The tryout begins at 8 a.m. with registration on the day of the event beginning at 7:30 a.m. Players also can register in advance.

Cost of the tryout is $40.

Players can wear only turf shoes or molded spikes. No metal spikes will be allowed.

"We are excited about giving your men the opportunity to try out for the Wild Things," new manager Bart Zeller said. "Our coaching staff, along with members of the current Wild Things team, will be evaluating the talent that shows up for the tryout camp. We want all local talent that has graduated from college, has been released from affiliated baseball or has a desire to make a professional club to sign up. If you have high school or college eligibility left, do not attend as it might impact your ability to continue your career."

To be eligible for the Frontier League, players must not have turned 27 years of age prior to Jan. 1, 2013.

Coach hired

The Wild Things have added former Youngstown State head coach Rich Pasquale to their coaching staff. He will work primarily with the infielders and outfielders.

Pasquale is a native of Beaver Falls and resides in Zelienople. He has been a scout for the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, and was an assistant coach at Pitt and Slippery Rock before spending five years as the head coach at Youngstown State (2008-12).

"We are fortunate to have Rich join our staff," new Wild Things manager Bart Zeller said. "He has a very impressive-looking resume in baseball and brings the passion and commitment to the game that we are looking for. In addition, he is a local individual who is well-known throughout the Pittsburgh area as a solid and experienced baseball man."