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Cal Ripken League Alumni News

Our alumni section is under construction and will be fully populated when the Ripken League alumni playing professional baseball learn their team assignments within their respective organizations.

Meanwhile, if you've got interesting news about a Ripken League alum (baseball-related or not), feel free to e-mail us, tweet us, or post a message on our Facebook page!

Major Leagues

Joe Smith│Wright State│Rockville Express '05

MLB Debut: 4/1/2007
Drafted: 2006 (Round 3, Overall Pick 94), New York Mets
Current team: Cleveland Indians

Smith played twenty games at Triple-A Columbus before re-joining the Cleveland Indians in June. He went 2-2, 3.83 for the big club in 53 appearances out of the bullpen. Smith allowed 18 runs (17 earned) on 30 hits and 24 walks. He struck out 32 batters in 40 innings, and Major League hitters batted just .208 off of him in 2010. For Columbus to start the season, Smith went 2-1, 1.96 with a pair of saves in 20 relief appearances. He allowed eight runs (five earned) on 17 hits and ten walks, with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.

Between the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Smith was acquired by the Indians in a three-team trade with the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets. He battled injury throughout much of the 2009 campaign, but still posted a respectable 3.44 ERA in 37 relief appearances for the Cleveland Indians. Smith struck out 30 batters in 34 innings and walked 13. He allowed 16 runs (13 earned) on 30 hits. Major Leaguers hit .236 off of him. Smith made five appearances for Triple-A Columbus in 2009 and did not allow a run in five total innings of work. He struck out six batters, and allowed four hits and a walk.

Smith had a solid sophomore campaign for the New York Mets in 2008. The sidewinder went 6-3, 3.55 in 82 relief appearances for the Mets. He allowed 28 runs (25 earned) on 51 hits and 31 walks in 63.1 innings-pitched. Smith struck out 52 batters and allowed just four home runs. 

The Rockville Express alum went 3-2 with a 3.45 ERA out of the bullpen for the Mets in 2007. He appeared in 54 games, striking out 45 batters in 44.1 innings-pitched. Smith allowed just three home runs.

Brett Cecil │Maryland│Silver Spring-Takoma T-Bolts '05

MLB Debut: 5/5/2009
Drafted: 2007 (Round 1-S, Overall Pick 38), Toronto Blue Jays
Current team: Toronto Blue Jays

Cecil had a strong Major League campaign in 2010, going 15-7 with a 4.22 ERA in 28 starts for the Toronto Blue Jays. Entrenched in the rotation, Cecil struck out 117 batters and walked 54 in 172.2 innings. He allowed 87 runs (81 earned) on 175 hits. The lefty from Maryland was nearly perfect against the Indians on May 3, allowing just one hit and a pair of walks in eight innings to get the win. Cecil struck out 10 batters in that contest. Cecil is now 22-11 in his MLB career, and should lock down an everyday spot in the Blue Jays' 2011 rotation.

Cecil made his Major League Debut on May 5, 2009 when he started for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Cleveland Indians. Cecil tied a club-record by striking out six batters in his debut. He allowed two runs on six hits and no walks as he pitched to a no-decision. Cecil finished the season 7-4, 5.30 in 17 starts and one appearance out of the bullpen. He struck out 69 batters in 93.1 innings and allowed 59 runs (55 earned) on 116 hits and 38 walks. 

Baseball America's top pitching prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system and the #17 overall prospect in the Eastern League, Cecil rose quickly through the Minor League ranks in 2008. After making four starts and posting a 1.74 ERA with the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class-A Florida State League, Cecil joined former Maryland Terrapins teammate and fellow Ripken, Sr. League alum Seth Overbey and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Class-AA Eastern League. Cecil went 6-2, 2.55 in 18 starts for the Fisher Cats, while striking out 87 batters in 77.2 innings. He was then promoted to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class-AAA International League, where he went 2-3, 4.11 in six starts with 31 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. Overall, Cecil went 8-5, 2.88 in 28 starts in 2008. He struck out a combined 129 batters in 118.2 innings-pitched and allowed just 41 walks. Opponents hit a combined .225 off of him in 2008. Baseball America projects Cecil as the Jays' fourth starter in 2012 and called his slider the best among prospects in the organization.

In 2007, Cecil proved his value very quickly for the at Class-A Short-Season Auburn, where he went 1-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 14 appearances for the Doubledays. Cecil struck out 56 batters in 50 innings and walked just 11. He allowed just one home run, and opposing hitters batted just .197 off of him. Baseball America named Cecil the top pro prospect in the Class-A Short-Season New York-Penn League in 2007 and also a short-season classification All-Star.

107 alumni playing professional baseball:

Zach Anderson (A-Short Season)
Matt Bodenchuk (IND)
Jason Bour (A-Advanced)
Justin Bour (A)
Steve Braun (A-Advanced)
Beau Brooks (AA)
Ryan Buch (A)
Alex Buchholz (A-Advanced)
Steven Bumbry (A)
Chase Burnette (A)
Brett Cecil (MLB)
Zach Clark (A-Advanced)
Steve Clevenger (AA)
Herman Colmenarez (IND)
Brian Conley (A-Advanced)
Chris Cullen (IND)
Kyle Davis (R)
Neal Davis (R)
Justin De Fratus (AA)
Trent DeLazzer (IND)
Vincent DiFazio (A-Advanced)
Steve Domecus (R)
Brian Dozier (A-Advanced)
Oliver Drake (A-Advanced)
Chris Duffy (R)
Matt Edgecombe (IND)
Jeremy Farrell (A-Advanced)
Pete Fatse (A-Advanced)
Evan Frederickson (R)
Nick Gaudi (R)
Derrik Gibson (A)
Michael Gilmartin (A)
Billy Gross (R)
Carlos Gutierrez (AAA)
Gerard Hall (A)
Blake Hassebrock (A-Short Season)
Gary Helmick (A)
Chris Henderson (R)
Mitch Herold (AA)
Austin Hinkle (IND)
Ivor Hodgson (A-Advanced)
Connor Hoehn (A)
LJ Hoes (AA)
TJ Hose (A-Advanced)
Steve Johnson (AA)
Marcus Jones (A-Advanced)
Mycal Jones (AA)
Jon Karcich (A)
Jon Kibler (AA)
Wade Kirkland (A-Short Season)
Austin Knight (A-Short Season)
Scott Krieger (A-Advanced)
Jake Laber (IND)
Leon Landry (R)
Greg Lane (IND)
Drew Lee (R)
Joe Leonard (A)
Matt Long (A-Advanced)
James LoPresti (IND)
Ronald Lowe (IND)
Ian Marshall (R)
Jarret Martin (R)
Ricky Martinez (R)
Tyler Massey (A)
Justin Mazur (R)
Justin McClanahan (A-Advanced)
Jeremiah Meiners (R)
Quinton Miller (A)
Zach Moore (R)
Ryan Moorer (A-Advanced)
Kenny Moreland (A-Advanced)
Conor Mullee (R)
Chris Notti (A)
Kyle Obal (IND)
Adam Olbrychowski (AA)
Eric Oliver (A-Advanced)
Ben Orloff (A-Short Season)
Seth Overbey (IND)
Matt Parker (R)
Dustin Pease (IND)
Alex Pepe (R)
Drew Permison (A-Short Season)
Neil Ramirez (A)
Ryan Rivers (R)
Bernard Robert (IND)
Eric Roof (A-Short Season)
Jeff Rowland (A)
Max Russell (A)
Scott Schneider (A-Advanced)
Mike Schurz (A)
Justin Segal (IND)
Michael Sheridan (A-Advanced)
Joe Smith (MLB)
Nick Schwaner (A-Short Season)
Josh Squatrito (A-Short Season)
Chris Squires (A-Advanced)
Ben Tootle (A)
Mark Tracy (A-Short Season)
Joe Van Meter (A)
Joe Velleggia (R)
Cody Walden (IND)
Matt Wickswat (A)
Kent Worthington (IND)
Justin Wright (A-Short Season)
Jared Yecker (IND)
Matt Zoltak (IND)
Mike Zuanich (A-Advanced)