The following is a listing of players with Bellevue ties playing professional baseball. If you know a player who should be added to the list, please call Joel Willits at 425-453-5045 or e-mail him at jwillits@bellevuereporter.com.
Evan Meek (Bellevue College)
Parent club: Pittsburgh Pirates
Current club: Pittsburgh Pirates
The skinny: Meek, a 6-foot right-hander, is coming out of the bullpen for the Pirates after spending only six games in AAA. In 44 innings, he’s given up 32 hits and 17 runs, struck out 39 and walked 29. He has a 1-1 record and a 3.48 ERA. Meek made his Major League debut last season, pitching in nine games for the Pirates.
Blake Hawksworth (Bellevue College)
Parent club: St. Louis Cardinals
Current club: St. Louis Cardinals
The skinny: Hawksworth, an Eastlake and BCC grad, made his Major League debut June 6 against the Rockies. Hawksworth allowed four runs on three hits, walked one and struck out one, and allowed a two-out, three-run home run to Clint Barmes in the ninth inning of a 10-1 loss. Since that time, he has appeared in 10 other games, allowing 17 hits over 18 innings.
Ben Johnson (Bellevue High School)
Parent club: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Current club: Class AAA Salt Lake Bees
The skinny: Johnson, a former catcher at Bellevue and UW, started the season with the AA Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League. After spending 41 games with the Travelers, hitting .184 with one home run and four RBIs in 164 plate appearances, Johnson was called up to AAA Salt Lake. He has since played 33 games with the Bees, hitting .262 with nine doubles, a home run and six RBIs in 114 at-bats.
Matt Brown (Bellevue)
Parent club: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Current club: Class AAA Salt Lake Bees
The skinny: Brown, a Bellevue native, played 11 games with the Angels last season, hitting .053 in 20 plate appearances. He’s currently with the Bees, where he’s hitting at a .225 clip in 80 games. He’s hit 10 home runs and driven in 49 runs, good enough for fourth on the team in both categories. He was activated from the disabled list on July 25, after spending a month sidelined with left elbow inflammation.
Rommie Lewis (Newport High School)
Parent club: Toronto Blue Jays
Current club: Class AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats
The skinny: After spending the first seven seasons of his professional career with the Baltimore Orioles organization, Lewis signed this season with the Toronto Blue Jays, and is currently pitching in AAA Las Vegas. Lewis has a 1.59 ERA and a 1-1 record in nine games for the 51s. He also played 26 games with the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he compiled a 2-4 record, a 2.57 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 42 innings of work.
Jason Ellison (Bellevue College)
Parent club: Philadelphia Phillies
Current club: Class AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The skinny: Ellison, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Phillies this season after spending last year with the Rangers organization. The 5’10 outfielder is hitting .244 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 94 games for the IronPigs.
Blaine Hardy (Bellevue College)
Prent club: Kansas City Royals
Current club: Class A Burlington Bees
The skinny: After spending 21 games with the Rookie League Idaho Falls Chukars of the Pioneer League last season, Hardy, a right-handed reliever, is 4-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 28 games for the Bees. He has a 78:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has given up only two home runs in 80.1 innings.
Harrison Bishop (Bellevue College)
Parent club: Pittsburgh Pirates
Current club: Class A (advanced) Lynchburg Hillcats
The skinny: Bishop, a 6’3”, 210-pound right-handed pitcher, is 2-3 in 26 games for the Hillcats. After spending last season with Hickory in Class A, Bishop has struck out 57, walked only 18 and given up only four home runs in 60.2 innings pitched.
Michael Lee (Bellevue College)
Parent club: Boston Red Sox
Current club: Class A Greenville Drive
The skinny: Lee, a 6-foot-7 righty pitcher, is 3-4 in 13 games for the Drive. In 53.2 innings, Lee has struck out 51, walked 17 and allowed 23 earned runs for a 3.86 ERA.
Brad Reid (Bellevue College)
Parent club: Seattle Mariners
Current club: Class A (Short season) Everett Aquasox
The skinny: A 30th-round selection by the Mariners in the 2008 draft, Reid, a right-handed pitcher, sports a 3-0 record and a 2.76 ERA in 17 games with the Aquasox. In 22.0 innings, he’s allowed 30 hits and given up six walks, while striking out 23.
Matt Wickswat (Bellevue)
Parent club: Chicago White Sox
Current club: Great Falls Voyagers (Rookie League)
The skinny: Wickswat, an Issaquah High School graduate from Bellevue, is a left-handed pitcher with the rookie league Voyagers. The 6-2 lefty has pitched 39.2 innings and has started all eight games he’s played in, yet has only one decision, a win. He’s struck out 50 and walked only seven.
Bradley Clapp (Bellevue College)
Parent club: Pittsburgh Pirates
Current club: GCL Pirates (Gulf Coast League, Rookie League)
The skinny: Clapp, rehabbing off of Tommy John surgery a year ago, threw his first live outing against an opponent last Tuesday: two innings pitched, zero earned runs. Since then, he’s played in two other games, and has a 3.18 ERA in 5.2 innings of work. Clapp, 22, spent last season with Hickory of the South Atlantic League, going 3-7 with a 3.32 ERA in 16 games.
Other notes: Jay Miller, a Newport grad and outfielder in the Phillies organization, was cut during spring training and has not signed with a new team…Stephen Foster of BCC opted to play at Lewis-Clark State College instead of signing with the Atlanta Braves in the 42nd round last year…In nine appearances for the Warriors, Foster is 0-0 with a 5.18 ERA in 24.1 innings of work…Ian Harrington, a Bellevue College alum who pitched last season for the Yakima Bears, voluntarily retired before spring training, Bulldogs coach Mark Yoshino confirmed, and is in the midst of entering the police academy.
