For: LEXINGTON LEGENDS PROGRAM 4-2004
Lexington Building Tomorrows Legends
By Rich Herles
LEXINGTON, KY. – In 1992, Alan Stein had a dream to bring professional baseball to Lexington and before that dream could come true a ballpark had to be built, a team had to be selected and finally a name had to be decided upon. When the name Lexington Legends was chosen, little did fans know that it would not only be the moniker for the team, but also a premonition of what this team would mean toward advancing the careers of the young players that pass through the South Atlantic League on their way to the Majors. As Lexington begins it’s fourth season, we have already had four players who have seen action in the "BIGS".
Felix Escalona was the first Legend to make it to the majors. In the inaugural season of 2001, Felix was a fixture at second base. Besides being a part of the first Legend lineup to play professionally in Lexington in over 50 years, he also had his name etched in the Lexington’s baseball history for getting the Legends first hit at Applebee’s Park. It was a perfectly laid down bunt. The ball rolled right down the third base line in the home opener’s first inning. The 2001 Legends went on to make baseball history, as they were the only team to ever win their league’s championship in the inaugural year. Escalona’s offensive skills are still stitched throughout the Legends All-Time records. He tops all Legends in most doubles (42) hit and most stolen bases with 46 swipes. He is also ranked second all-time in the following categories: at-bats with 536, hits with 155 and runs scored with 92. Felix’s sixteen homers is Lexington’s fourth highest. Even though his batting average of .289 may not be among the top five, it was definitely enough to open the eyes of the major leagues scouts.
Following the 2001 season, Escalona was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 2001 Rule V draft in December and then was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Felix saw action in 59 games in the 2002 season for the Devil Rays and batted .217 with eight doubles, two triples and seven stolen bases.
The 2003 season was split between the Devil Rays, Tampa Bay’s Double A Orlando Rays and with the Baltimore Orioles organization’s Double A Bowie Baysox & Triple A Ottawa Lynx. With Tampa Bay, Felix appeared in ten games during the 2003 season and batted .185 with two doubles and one stolen base. In February of 2004, Escalona was signed by the New York Yankees and signed to a minor league contract, but was invited to Spring Training.
The first member of the Lexington Legends to move up through the Astros’ organization to play at Houston was Kirk Saarloos. He played his first professional game with the 2001 Lexington squad and went on to post a 1.17 ERA, as the Legends first closer. In his 22 appearances with Lexington, Saarloos stuck out 40, while only giving up seven walks and holding opponents to a miniscule .165 batting average. Kirk began the 2002 season with the AA Round Rock Express before being promoted to AAA New Orleans Zephyrs. He achieved a 10-1 record with Round Rock that included a ten game consecutive win streak with a 1.40 ERA. His performance with the Express earned him the Texas League’s Pitcher of the Year. He made his major league debut against Milwaukee on June 18, 2002. Saarloos held the Brewers hitless until giving up a leadoff homer in the fourth, which led to a loss. After posting a 0-2 record in three starts the young right-hander was sent to New Orleans. In his four appearances with the Zephyrs, he compiled a record of 2-0 with a 2.25 and was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week (July 1-7). In his first return to the Astros, Saarloos picked up his first major league win as Houston defeated the Cubs 3-2. On July 25th, the rookie hurler pitched a compete game shutout, which was the first of the season for Houston and the only rookie to throw a shutout that season. Kirk finished the season at 6-7 and 6.01 era in 17 starts. Between Round Rock & New Orleans, he started 15 of the 17 games he appeared in and allowed only 17 earned runs on his way to posting a 12-1 record and 1.54 ERA. These stats influenced Sports Ticker to name Kirk Saarloos the Minor League 2002 Pitcher of the Year.
The 2003 season was different story. Saarloos only started four games out of the 36 appearances that he made for the Astros with a 2-1 record. In the 32 relief appearances, he posted a record of 2-0 with a 2.97 ERA. During 2003, Kirk also made three stops in New Orleans and in his 15 games with the Zephyrs he went 6-0 and a 3.06 ERA. The scouting word for this season is Houston is pleased with Saarloos’ poise and makeup and with a good spring training could make the squad again this season.
The Legends third player to make it to the ‘Bigs’ is Mike Gallo. Mike made it to Houston one step at a time. Gallo began his professional career in 1999 with the short-season Class A Auburn Doubledays in the New York-Penn League. After starting three games for Auburn and posting a 1-0 record with a 1.23 ERA, the lefty climbed up one step to the Midwest league’s Michigan Battle Cats. He continued his rookie season starting 12 games for Michigan ending with a 2-3 record and a 5.85 ERA. He remained with the Battle Cats for the 2000 & 2001 seasons. As he honed his skills, Mike put up respectable numbers with records of 8-3 and an ERA of 4.86 for 2000 and a 3.85 ERA with a 9-2 record for 2001.
The 2002 season was Gallo’s breakout season, as he appeared in 42 games mostly as middle reliever for the Legends and lowered his ERA to 1.83 on his way to a 4-4 record and eight saves. The 2003 season began with Gallo taking the big step to AA baseball with Round Rock. He managed a record of 1-1 with two saves in his 17 games with the Express and an unbelievable ERA of 1.37. From there he moved up to New Orleans for 16 games. With the Zephyrs, he continued to shine posting a 2.08 ERA and a 3-0 record. Then the call came. July 2nd, he pitched one scoreless inning in his major league debut against the Brewers. In 32 relief appearances for the Astros, Gallo put up good rookie numbers, as he finished the year with a record of 1-0 and a 3.00 ERA. The scouts look for Gallo to stick in the majors, as long as he can continue to get ahead of hitters and keep getting better command of his pitches.
The final Legend to make the jump from Lexington to the majors is Rodrigo Rosario. Like Gallo, Rosario made it to the majors one step at a time. The right-hander began his professional career in 1997 by being named the team MVP on the Dominican Summer League Astros for his 6-4 record and 2.46 ERA. Rodrigo was among the leaders in the 1998 Gulf Coast Leagues in starts (Tied 1st) and innings (3rd). With the GCL Astros, he started 12 of his 13 games enroute to a 2-2 record and 4.12 ERA. He also made two one-inning appearances on no-hit, no-run baseball for the NY-Penn League’s Auburn Doubledays. Rodrigo played his 1999 season with the Martinsville Astros, which is the Rookie Advanced affiliate. There his ERA rose to 4.69 and he finished with a 5-5 record.
Rosario returned to Auburn for the 2000 season, where even though his record dropped to 5-6, his 3.45 ERA was an improvement, as he led the team with 67 strikeouts. His 2001 season with the Legends was when Rodrigo turned his career around. He began the year in the bullpen, but then moved into the rotation and started 21 games. Besides being named to the South Atlantic League All-Star, the right-handed hurler finished with a 13-4 record and a 2.14 ERA, which was third in the SAL and led all Astros minor leaguers. He picked up two wins in the postseason to help the team win their historic league championship. 2002 started out a little strange for Rosario. There was a discrepancy about his age and it was settled that he was two years older than previously reported, but that didn’t stop his climb toward the major league. With the Double A Round Rock Express he tallied eleven wins and six losses with a 3.11 ERA and struck out 94 batters, which earned him spots on both the Texas League’s Midseason and Postseason All-Star teams.
Last season, Rosario began the year with the New Orleans Zephyrs, just one step away from his dreams. With the Zephyrs, he posted a 5-7 record with one complete game and a 4.03 ERA. Then the call came and he was up with Houston. Rodrigo made two starts and in his eight innings pitched; he recorded his first win and posted a 1.13 ERA. Then injury beset the young pitcher. On August 1st, he underwent surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and partial tear of the bicep tendon- ending his season. Initial hopes were that he might be ready for spring training as a Non-roster Invitee. He is progressing well, but it looks more like he won’t be game ready until mid-season at the earliest.
Besides Saarloos and Gallo, Houston invited former Legend catchers John Buck & Hector Gimenez; shortstop Tommy Whiteman; outfielder Charlton Jimerson; and pitchers Jimmy Barrett & Fernando Nieve to Spring Training on their 40-man Roster. Which one of these players will be the next to see action with the Astros, we’ll just have to wait and see. Mean while, come out to Applebee’s Park and see if you can pick who from the 2004 Legends has the best chance of making their mark in the major league.
Remember keep your eye on the ball and swing for the stars!
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Copyright @ 2004 by Richard G. Herles
All Rights Reserved!
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