MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK / ELLIOTT TEAFORD : Dream Team Makes Up for Nightmare Season

Casualties of the major league players strike continue to pile up. The latest victims also are players. Major league rosters would have expanded from 25 players to 40 last Thursday, but the strike wiped out promotions for top minor league prospects.

With that in mind, The Times picks the first, and hopefully last, I-Shoulda-Been-Promoted Team, which includes the best and brightest Orange County minor leaguers. Sorry, no cash awards, just your name in the paper.

This is not an all-star team, mind you, but a collection of the top triple-A producers this season. There are a few double-A and Class-A talents included, but primarily these are the guys who woulda, shoulda, coulda received a ticket to The Show for September.

You might notice the team is heavy on outfielders, because, well, there are a lot of good outfielders from Orange County.

The squad:

FIRST BASE

Greg Pirkl (Los Alamitos High), Calgary, triple A--Started his career as a catcher because he believed it was the fastest way to the majors. Turned out the Seattle Mariners were short on first basemen. Spent time in Seattle at the beginning of the season. Hitting .317 for Calgary.

SECOND BASE

Steve Sisco (Cal State Fullerton), Wilmington, Del., Class A--Always good field, good hit and a backbone for the Titans, Sisco batted .277 for the Royals’ Carolina League team. Without the strike, he might have been pushed ahead to double A.

SHORTSTOP

Jason Bates (Esperanza), Colorado Springs, triple A--A product of the Aztec baseball machine, Bates impressed the Colorado Rockies enough to jump from short-season A ball to triple A last season. He improved his hitting this season, raising his average 21 points, to .288.

THIRD BASE

Phil Nevin (Cal State Fullerton), Tucson, triple A--Without some guy named Ken Caminiti entrenched at third for the Houston Astros, Nevin surely would have played in the majors this season. Still, he had a solid season for the club’s top minor league affiliate, hitting .263 with 79 runs batted in. A cinch for a September call-up.

Craig Paquette (Golden West), Tacoma, triple A--Spent 105 games playing for Oakland last season, his first major league experience. He had a strong season for Tacoma, certainly worthy of another look as the A’s battled the Angels (just kidding) for the American League West championship. Batted .286.

OUTFIELD

James Buccheri (Golden West), Tacoma, triple A--Spent his third consecutive season at Tacoma, and this month might have been his time for a cup of coffee in Oakland. Batted .303, his best average in triple A.

Marty Cordova (Orange Coast), Salt Lake, triple A--Rated the Minnesota Twins’ fifth-best prospect, Cordova made a huge jump this season. Batted .354 in 101 games in his first season at triple A. He was only a .250 hitter at double A in ’93.

Charles Gipson (Loara High), Riverside, Class A--Every so often a 63rd-round pick will surprise you. Gipson has grabbed the Mariners’ attention with a .292 average and 33 stolen bases in 127 games. Only his third season in pro ball.

Shawn Green (Tustin High), Syracuse, triple A--The Toronto Blue Jays’ top draft pick in 1991, Green has developed quickly. Spent time in Toronto at midseason, but returned to triple A when he didn’t appear quite ready for the big leagues. Batting .344 in 109 games.

Marc Newfield (Marina High), Calgary, triple A--Seattle’s top pick (sixth overall) in ’90 and he was the fourth-youngest player in the majors at the end of last season. This was his first season at triple A. His .349 average, 19 homers and 83 RBIs were head-turning numbers.

CATCHER

CATCHER

Jason Moler (Cal State Fullerton), Reading, Pa., double A--No, he wasn’t going to take Darren Daulton’s position away in Philadelphia, but Moler proved to be a pretty fair hitter. Batted .284.

PITCHER

Greg Hansell (Kennedy High), Albuquerque, triple A--Considering the dismal shape of the Dodger bullpen, it seemed only natural that Hansell would be called up at midseason. The prospects of a strike kept him in the minors, though. Perhaps it was for the best. With a 10-2 record and a 3.02 earned-run average in 46 appearances, 40 in relief, Hansell had his best season since going 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA at Class-A Bakersfield in ’91. Roomed with catcher Mike Piazza at Bakersfield, San Antonio and Albuquerque. The two should have been reunited by now. Wait until next year.

MVP--Hansell. The 6-foot-5 right-handed reliever is Orange County’s prospect of the year.