Twins eye Peavey as possible starter

Happy Friday, everyone. We are ready for the weekend, so let's get started.

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We wrote recently about alum Greg Peavey (2007), a right-handed pitcher from Oregon State who was selected by the Minnesota Twins (from the Mets) in the triple-A phase of the recent Rule 5 draft.

That's great for Greg, a fresh start in a new organization. Here is more on that story and on Peavey, from reporter Seth Stohs of the Twins Daily website.

Go Greg!

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A quick update: Left-handed pitching alums Josh Osich (2008) and Matt Boyd (2010) of Oregon State each were married recently. Boyd is in the Toronto organization; Osich pitches in the Giants organization.

Former intern Kylen Trevor, a member of our 2011 intern class, the first from the OSU College of Business, recently took a new job as a Sales & Marketing Director at KemperSports. A member of the 2012 intern class, OSU graduate Kaitlynn Phillips, is now in sales with the Hilton Garden Inn in Corvallis.

Congrats to everyone!

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Alum Kevin Flemer (2013), a sophomore pitcher at Oregon State who was a key cog on the staff of our 2013 WCL championship team, will play for the LaCrosse Loggers in the Northwoods League this summer. Kevin was 2-1, 0.81 in 11 games for us that summer following his senior year in high school.

"Kevin follows in the footsteps of his older brother Matt who was one of the best competitors we've ever had in a Logger uniform," La Crosse GM Kevin Goodell said.

"On top of that, Kevin comes from a storied program in Oregon State that produces many of the top players in the country on an annual basis. Kevin will be a great asset to our team."

Kevin played at Kelowna in the WCL last summer and was 0-2, 12.19 in seven games with a bad team. Please click right here for more on that story.

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That is all for today. Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.

Adelaide alone atop the ABL

Happy Wednesday, everyone. We are back after a quick trip to Florida to see some family. It was sunny and 75 degrees there, but it is nice to be home.

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The Adelaide Bite, managed by Corvallis skipper Brooke Knight, are all alone in first place with a 15-9 record after another round of games in the Australian Baseball League.

Here's a roundup of former Knights in the ABL:

ROCKY GALE (2007, 2009, Adelaide) : The former Portland catcher is starting to hit after a slow start and has raised his average to .275 (20-75) in 23 games, with no homers and nine RBIs. He is in the San Diego minor-league system. He hit almost .300 at triple-A El Paso this season.

COLIN FELDTMAN (2013, Adelaide) : The former Portland pitcher is 0-0, 12.79 in four games, with 12 strikeouts in 6.1 innings. He is not in affiliated baseball.

LIAM BARON (2008-09, Perth) : The former Linn-Benton CC and Gonzaga pitcher is 0-0, 0.68 in six appearances, with eight strikeouts in 13.1 innings. He is a Perth native and a many-year veteran of the Heat.

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The Yakima Valley Pippins have added several players with local ties to their 2015 roster. Here is more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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New Victoria owner Matthew Stoudt wants the team to stay put at Royal Athletic Park. Here is more on that story, from the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper.

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That is all for today. See you on Friday.

Twins select Peavey in Rule 5 draft

Happy Monday, everyone. OK, so you might be reading this on Saturday or Sunday, but we are gone for several days due to family obligations so we are giving you Monday's Blog a couple days early.

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The Minnesota Twins selected alum Greg Peavey (2007), a right-handed pitcher from Oregon State, out of the New York Mets' farm system in the triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft on Friday.

A sixth-round draft pick in 2010, Peavey went 11-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 18 starts at double-A Binghamton in 2014 and was 1-5, 11.62 in six starts at triple-A Las Vegas.

"He's been a starter, and I think that's probably what he is," Minnesota pro scouting coordinator Vern Followell told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press newspaper. "I'm not sure he's got a dynamic pitch that leads you toward the bullpen. We're trying to get lucky here and get a starter."

He is 37-27 with a 4.48 ERA in his minor-league career, with 380 strikeouts in 520.1 career innings over 121 appearances.

Best of luck to Greg. Sometimes a fresh start in a new organization can do wonders.

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Knights' all-West Coast League reliever Brandon Choate (2013-14), a senior at Washington, is the subject of this profile article in Summer Baseball Insider. We are looking for Brandon to have a big senior year and to be selected in the 2015 MLB draft.

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The Walla Walla Sweets have added three players from Southern Illinois University to their 2015 roster. Here is more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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The Victoria HarbourCats have added two players from UC Irvine and one from New Mexico to their roster for the 2015 season. Here is more on that story, again from Our Sports Central.

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That is all for today. See you on Wednesday.

More on Victoria's ownership situation

Happy Friday, everyone. Hope your week is going well so far. Not much Knights news to report, so we will take a stroll around the West Coast League instead.

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We reported on Monday about some ownership problems in Victoria. Here is more on that story, from the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper. Sounds as if everything will be resolved eventually.

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As we reported earlier this fall, the Bend Elks have new management and are now owned by John Marick and his wife, Tami Marick. John is the brother of former Knights trainer Joel Marick (2000-06). Here is more on their plans for the team, from the West Coast League website.

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The Medford Rogues have signed four players for the upcoming season. Here is more on that story, from the Medford website.

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As we said, pretty slow news day, typical for this time of the year. In the meantime, that is all for today. Have a great weekend.

Adam Melker a free agent

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Hope your week is going well so far.

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Former Knights' outfielder Adam Melker (2008, 2009) of Cal Poly has declared free agency after a year in the Los Angeles Angels' system. The 26-year-old is free to sign with any team.

Melker hit .258 (71-275) at Arkansas in the double-A Texas League in 2014, with five homers and 32 RBIs in 82 games. He has a career .264 average in 445 minor-league games, all at double-A or below, with the Angels or the St. Louis Cardinals, who originally signed him in 2010.

Alums Jim Murphy (2007), Tommy Hanson (2005), Alex Burg (2008), Drew Garcia (2007) and Nick Struck (2009) are also free agents. Murphy was in the Philadelphia organization in 2014; Hanson was with the White Sox; Burg was with the Marlins; Garcia was with the Rockies and Struck was with the Dodgers.

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Here is another story on former WCL president Ken Wilson's planned Great West League, from reporter Jacob F. Garcia on the Best Coast Baseball website.

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The Victoria HarbourCats have a new owner, Bhootan LLC, a company based in Dover, Del., according to this story in the HarbourCats baseball blog. Interesting situation.

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That is all for today. See you on Friday.

Austin Sodders to return

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had great weekends; now let's get on with the news.

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Another member of our 2014 pitching staff will return for the 2015 season. The Knights have signed sophomore Austin Sodders of Riverside City College, a lefty who was 4-0 with a 3.46 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 26 innings in 18 relief appearances in 2014.

A 6-foot-4, 180-pounder from Canyon Creek High School in Moreno Valley, Calif., Austin was 3-1, 2.81 in 11 games as a freshman at RCC in 2014, with 13 strikeouts in 16 innings.

He is the fifth pitcher from 2014 to return, joining Angel Landazuri of UC Riverside, Harrison McGhee of Concordia, Merrick Patito of Chaffey College and Alex Nesbitt of Washington.

Welcome back, Austin!

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The Adelaide Bite, managed by Knights' skipper Brooke Knight, are tied for first place with Brisbane with a 12-8 record after another round of games in the Australian Baseball League.

Here's a roundup of former Knights in the ABL:

ROCKY GALE (2007, 2009, Adelaide) : The former Portland catcher is starting to hit after a slow start and has raised his average to .258 (16-62) in 19 games, with no homers and seven RBIs. He is in the San Diego minor-league system. He hit almost .300 at triple-A El Paso this season.

COLIN FELDTMAN (2013, Adelaide) : The former Portland pitcher is 0-0, 12.79 in four games, with 12 strikeouts in 6.1 innings. He is not in affiliated baseball.

LIAM BARON (2008-09, Perth) : The former Linn-Benton CC and Gonzaga pitcher is 0-0, 0.68 in six appearances, with eight strikeouts in 13.1 innings. He is a Perth native and a many-year veteran of the Heat.

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The Walla Walla Sweets have signed returnee Matt Majors and Michael Agramonte, Jake Hazard and Parker Coss of UC Irvine for the 2015 season. Please click here for more on that story, from Our Sports Central.

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That is all for today. See you on Wednesday.

Dylan Stuart signs with Traverse City

Happy Friday, everyone. It was a pretty wild day in Corvallis yesterday, with the news about Oregon State football coach Mike Riley leaving for Nebraska, but things are back to normal today. So let's get on with the news.

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The Traverse City (Mich.) Beach Bums of the independent Frontier League have signed former Knights' pitcher Dylan Stuart (2011, 2012) for the upcoming season. The little lefty with the great pickoff move played at UC Riverside.

Dylan completed his eligibility in 2014 and played briefly with the Florida Gulf Coast Braves in rookie ball after signing with Atlanta as a free agent. He was 1-0, 3.24 in five appearances, with nine strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

Former Knights' broadcaster Kevin Burke (2012) was the play-byplay voice of the Beach Bums in 2014, so our connection to the team will remain for one more year.

Congrats to Dylan for his new opportunity!

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Pitcher Craig Colen, a 2015 Knight-to-be from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., made his commitment to Cal Poly official last week when he signed an letter-of-intent to join the Mustangs for the 2015-16 academic year.

A 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander from Lowell High School in San Francisco, Colen won six games, had a 1.16 ERA and led Lowell to the CIF-San Francisco Section Academic Athletic Association championship last spring. He pitched a shutout against Stuart Hill HS and struck out 77 batters in 66.1. innings, with just five walks.

He also hit .325 with four doubles, two triples, 15 RBI and six steals as an outfielder when not pitching. Colen twice earned first-team all-city honors, was named Pitcher of the Year and played in the Area Code Games for the Oakland Athletics.

After visiting Air Force, California, UC Santa Barbara and San Jose State, Colen chose Cal Poly "for its legendary engineering program and outstanding baseball reputation."

Welcome aboard, Craig!

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Pitching coach/major-league alum Bob Wells will return to the Yakima Valley Pippins in 2015, the team announced this week. There are also several more personnel moves in Yakima; please click here for more on that story, from the Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper.

You can also read more on the new players from Our Sports Central by clicking here.

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That is all for today. Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.

George Fox pitcher signs with Knights

Happy Wednesday, everyone. We have another transaction to report, so let's get on with it.

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The Knights have signed junior pitcher Kevin Hamann of George Fox University for the 2015 season. He is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound right-hander.

Hamann pitched for the Bend Elks in 2014 and was 3-2 with a 3.40 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just four walks in 39.2 innings pitched. He transferred to GFU after two springs at Clark (jr.) College in Vancouver, Wash.

Hamann was 6-6, 2.86 in 13 games at Clark in 2014, with three complete games and 49 strikeouts in 77.1 innings. He was 2-2, 3.62 in 10 games in 2013, with one complete game and 38 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.

He is a Bend native who starred at Summit High School. He was the Intermountain Conference Pitcher of the Year and a 5A all-state selection in 2012.

Welcome to the Knights, Kevin!

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Outfielder Michael McAdoo, a 2015 signee from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., has signed with UC Santa Barbara and will join the Gauchos for the 2015-16 academic year.

A 2013 High chool Silver Slugger Award winner, McAdoo hit .297, with 20 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in his junior year at De La Salle despite just recently giving his full attention to baseball. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was also a member of the Rawlings Top Prospects Team while landing among the Perfect Game National Top 500 prospects.

"Michael has progressed rapidly since giving up football a year ago," UCSB coach Andrew Checketts said. "He has pro-level tools and should develop into a middle of the order hitter and frontline outfielder at UCSB.

"He has gap power, a plus arm and runs well for a big guy. With some refinement and more experience, Michael has a chance to be a star."

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Bellingham pitcher Andrew Summerville, now a freshman at Stanford, was named the 2014 Washington State Baseball Coaches Association's High School Player of the Year. Please click here for more on that story, from the Bellingham website.

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That is all for today. See you on Friday.

Brooke Knight's Bite in second place

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had great holiday weekends.

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The Adelaide Bite, managed by Knights' skipper Brooke Knight, are in second place with a 9-7 record after another round of games in the Australian Baseball League. They trail first-place Brisbane (12-8) by one game.

Here's a roundup of former Knights in the ABL:

ROCKY GALE (2007, 2009, Adelaide) : The former Portland catcher is starting to hit after a slow start and has raised his average to .213 (10-47) in 15 games, with no homers and six RBIs. He is in the San Diego minor-league system. He hit almost .300 at triple-A El Paso this season.

COLIN FELDTMAN (2013, Adelaide) : The former Portland pitcher is 0-0, 7.50 in three games, with 11 strikeouts in six innings after fanning the side in his only appearance last week. He is not in affiliated baseball.

LIAM BARON (2008-09, Perth) : The former Linn-Benton CC and Gonzaga pitcher is 0-0, 0.68 in six appearances, with eight strikeouts in 13.1 innings. He is a Perth native and a many-year veteran of the Heat.

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Former West Coast League president Ken Wilson is off on a new venture. He is forming the Great West League in Northern California, a summer wood-bat baseball league he hopes to have up and running in 2016.

Wilson plans to have between 6-8 teams; Lodi and Chico have already been named as franchises. I would expect they will look at Humboldt and Redding as well, as there is a long history of baseball in those cities, which would easily be in the league's projected geographical footprint.

Please click here for more on the GWL from Ballpark Digest. Please click here for more from BallparkBiz.com, and please click here for more from sports editor Steve Matthies of the Klamath Falls Herald and News newspaper.

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Former Knights/Oregon State pitcher Daniel Turpen (2005) has been re-signed by the Minnesota Twins. He was 5-2, 4.48 in 40 games with New Britain in the double-A Eastern League in 2014, with three saves and 60 strikeouts in 62.1 innings.

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That is all for today. See you on Wednesday.

Greg Peavey eligible for Rule 5 draft

Happy Wednesday, everyone. We have a few Knights news items to pass along, so let's get started.

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Alum Greg Peavey (2007) is among the pitchers in Baseball America's list of prospects for the annual major-league baseball Rule 5 draft, set for Dec. 11.

Peavey, who played at Oregon State, is a five-year veteran of the New York Mets' organization. He played at double-A Binghamton and triple-A Las Vegas in 2014. Here is Baseball America's analysis of the Vancouver native, who played for us following his senior year at Hudson Bay High School:

"The former Little League star threw 90 MPH as a 14-year-old and has gained 2-4 MPH since. Coming off an excellent season in Double-A Binghamton, the Oregon State alum doesn't fit normal profile of type of pitcher who sticks in Rule 5."

Greg was 12-8, 4.65 in 24 games with Las Vegas and Binghamton, with 123 strikeouts in 143.2 innings.

The Rule 5 draft prevents teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to have them play in the majors. Any player selected under Rule 5 is immediately added to his new team's 40-man roster.

If chosen in the Rule 5 draft, a player must be kept on the selecting team's 25-man major league roster for the entire season after the draft. He may not be optioned or designated to the minors. The selecting team may, at any time, waive the Rule 5 draftee.

If a Rule 5 draftee clears waivers by not signing with a new MLB team, he must be offered back to the original team, effectively canceling the Rule 5 draft choice. Once a Rule 5 draftee spends an entire season on his new team's 25-man roster, his status reverts to normal and he may be optioned or designated for assignment.

Any player chosen in the Rule 5 draft may be traded to any team while under the Rule 5 restrictions, but the restrictions transfer to the new team. If the new team does not want to keep the player on its 25-man roster for the season, he must be offered back to the team of which he was a member when chosen in the draft.

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Tampa Bay has added pitcher Matt Andriese (2009) to its 40-man roster, a big step in helping the former UC-Riverside star make the big club. The 25-year-old right-hander played for Durham in the triple-A International League 2014 after being obtained in a trade from San Diego, who drafted him in the third round in 2011.

Andriese was 11-8, 3.77 ERA in 28 appearances in his first year in Tampa Bay's system. He ranked second among Tampa Bay prospects and fourth in the International League with 129 strikeouts. His 11 wins tied for second among Rays' farmhands.

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St. Louis recently traded alum Sam Gaviglio (2009) of Oregon State to the Seattle Mariners. A right-handed pitcher, he spent last season with double-A Springfield in the Texas League. Here is Baseball America's analysis:

"The Mariners acquired Double-A Springfield's Sam Gaviglio from the Cardinals but did not add the Rule 5-eligible right-hander to the 40-man roster. His solid-average fastball, plus curveball and fringe-average control give him a chance to fill a back-of-the-rotation role in the majors.

"Gaviglio finished third in the Texas League with 126 strikeouts, going 5-12, 4.28 in 25 games (24 starts) in 2014."

Seattle's triple-A franchise is in Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League, so Sam could be back in the Northwest this season.

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Pittsburgh has optioned third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) back to triple-A Indianapolis. He spent part of the 2014 season with the Pirates and the rest of the year with the Indians.

BeMo hit .179 (7-39) in 23 games with Pittsburgh, with four RBIs, and .266 (105-395) in 92 games at Indianapolis, with four homers and 53 RBIs.

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Oakland has released alum Dayton Alexander (2011), the former Feather River College standout who ran afoul of PED rules this offseason. He played four years in their minor-league system and never advanced past single-A. He hit .207 (23-111) in 36 games at Vermont in the short-A New York-Penn League in 2014, with no homers and seven RBIs.

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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you on Monday. No Blog on Friday because of the Thanksgiving holiday.