Minor League Update: Olmedo-Barrera caps first season with postseason appearance
The following are updates on local baseball players at the minor league level.
David Olmedo-Barrera (St. Francis High, 2012) Princeton Rays outfielder: After helping Cal State Fullerton reach the NCAA World Series and getting drafted in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in June by the Tampa Bay Rays, Olmedo-Barrera enjoyed a terrific season with Princeton.
The former All-Area first-team selection flourished with Princeton, the rookie ball affiliate of Tampa Bay. Olmedo-Barrera, 21, helped Princeton go 37-31 for second place in the Appalachian League’s East Division. Princeton qualified for the postseason and advanced to the American League Championship before falling to the Greeneville Astros on Sept. 8.
Olmedo-Barrera participated in two playoff games, collecting two hits in nine at-bats. He scored one run and drove in a run.
Princeton went the limit to best the Pulaski Yankees in a three-game series. Olmedo-Barrera played in the deciding game on Sept. 5 and went one for five with an RBI. He drove in a run with a ninth-inning single in Princeton’s 7-1 victory.
Olmedo-Barrera didn’t compete again until the winner-take-all contest against Greeneville. He had a single and scored a run in the fourth inning in an 8-7 defeat.
For the season, Olmedo-Barrera batted .288 (49 for 170) with four home runs and 21 runs batted in. He collected 10 doubles, 25 runs and four stolen bases in 44 games for Princeton. Perhaps his best stretch came down the stretch for Princeton. Between Aug. 28-Aug. 31 in four games, he went a combined eight for 17, hitting safely in each of them while notching five runs, two home runs, three RBI and 15 total bases.
Nik Turley (La Cañada native) Sacramento River Cats starting pitcher: Turley, a left-hander, completed his first season with the triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Pacific Coast League.
He made 19 starts, finishing 7-8 with a 4.56 earned-run average. In 108 2/3 innings, Turley struck out 85, walked 48 and yielded 64 runs (52 earned).
Turley went 4-4 in his last 10 appearances and posted a 3.81 ERA.
He ended the campaign on a positive note during his final start Sept. 7 against the visiting Albuquerque Isotopes. Turley tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out eight, walking four and scattering two hits in an 11-0 victory.
Sacramento finished 71-73 for second place in the league’s Northern Division.
Kelson Brown (La Cañada High, 2006) Indianapolis Indians infielder: The former All-Area and All-Rio Hondo League first-team selection went on the disabled list three times with ankle injuries.
Brown, 27, played in 16 games, batting .222 (six for 27). He collected two doubles and scored four runs for Indianapolis, the triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the International League.
Indianapolis finished 83-61 for second place in the league’s West Division and earned a wild-card spot for the postseason, though Brown never participated in any contests.
Indianapolis advanced to the Governors’ Cup against the Columbus Clippers. Columbus won the five-game series, 3-2. Columbus wrapped up the series Saturday with a 3-0 road victory. The Clippers won the first two contests at home (6-5, 5-4) before the series shifted to Indianapolis. The Indians then posted 6-5, 5-4 wins to even the series.
Earlier, Indianapolis swept a three-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The Indians picked up 7-3, 6-1, 4-2 wins.
Angelo La Bruna (La Cañada native) Gulf Coast Nationals infielder: After graduating from USC in the spring, La Bruna was drafted in the 33rd round (1,004th overall) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Draft in June. La Bruna competed for the Gulf Coast Nationals, the rookie ball team of the Washington Nationals in the Gulf Coast League.
La Bruna, 23, played in 32 games and batted .269 (25 for 93) with six doubles, nine runs and five runs batted in. He finished up on a positive note, batting .324 (11 for 34) in his last 10 games. La Bruna hit safely in seven games in that stretch.
In the last game of the season, La Bruna collected two doubles in the Nationals’ 5-2 road win against the Gulf Coast Mets on Aug. 28.
The Nationals went 24-34 and finished last in the league’s East Division.
Fernando Valenzuela Jr. (St. Francis High, 2000) Toros de Tijuana first baseman: In his first season with Tijuana, a member of the triple-A Mexican League, Valenzuela had mixed results while playing in just 25 contests. Valenzuela, who also played at Glendale Community College before transferring to UNLV, didn’t play after June 2.
Valenzuela, a two-time all-star in the triple-A Mexican League, batted .244 (10 for 41) with six runs batted in. All of his hits were singles.
Tijuana went 54-53 for fourth place in the league’s Norte Division and qualified for the playoffs. Its season ended Sept. 6 with a 2-1 road loss against Acereros del Norte.