Former Cats making their mark

At least a couple of former Thunder Bay Border Cats players got a taste of life in the big leagues during spring training.

Infielder Marc Maddox earned an at bat with the Kansas City Royals and former closer Jon Hunton, from the Cats first Northwoods League season in 2003, pitched a scoreless inning for the Oakland A’s.

Maddox is currently on the roster of the AAA Omaha Royals. He played for three minor league teams in 2009, combining to hit .164 with four homers and 19 RBI. Hunton split last season between High A Stockton and AA Midland, owning a 3.33 ERA and registering four saves with Midland, and a 1.80 ERA and six saves in 13 games with Stockton.

No Border Cats player has yet to see action in a regular-season Major League game, though a number, including OF Zach Daeges, OF Matt Camp and pitchers Scot Drucker, Eric Wordekemper, Reid Mahon and Jon Mueller have made it as far as AAA ball.

Camp will be back for a second season with the Iowa Cubs in 2010, where he hit .282 with two homers and 44 RBI and 18 stolen bases.

Wordekemper is showing promise  this spring with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees, New York’s top farm club. Last year, after starting in AA, he made the jump to AAA, where he posted a 2-0 record with 4.32 ERA and one save, coming entirely out of the bullpen.

Daeges, a non-roster invitee to the Boston Red Sox camp, will start the season in Pawtucket, but is currently sidelined and on the disabled list. He hit just .172 in 29 AB with the minor-league Sox last season.

Drucker is expected to fill a spot in the Toledo Mud Hens rotation this summer. He went 8-3 with a 4.78 ERA with the Detroit Tigers top farm club in 2009, 16 of his 30 appearances coming in a starting role. The Mud Hens are managed by former Montreal Expos 3B Larry Parrish.

Infielder Matt Mangini, one of the top prospects in the Seattle Mariners organization and a 2007 52nd overall selection, appears to be headed back to the Southern League’s West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, where he hit .273 in 2009 with a dozen home runs and 67 RBI. He also stole 10 bases.

Meanwhile shortstop Jonathan Diaz is expected to be the starting shortstop for New Hampshire, the AA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.  A teammate of Camp’s at North Carolina State, Diaz hit .214 for the Eastern League squad in 2009, with one home run and 14 RBI.

In other Cats alumni news, original GM Dan Wolfert has found a new home. After spending several seasons with the Sarasota Reds before the parent club decided to relocate to Arizona, Wolfert has re-emerged with the Florida State League’s Bradenton Pirates, where he will assume the GM duties with the High A Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate. Wolfert, 31, spent two seasons at the helm of the Border Cats.

The Major League Baseball season is set to get under way on Sunday night when the New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox.