Players From Region Pitch Tents at Training Camps

The list is an odd mishmash of ballplayers of every stripe who possess only this in common: All are products of Valley or Ventura County schools, and all are at major league spring training camps.

Fifty-four players from the region are sprinkled among 24 camps. Only the Rockies, Yankees, Pirates, Blue Jays, Cardinals and Braves have no area players.

Among the 28 players with big league experience, some are veterans who have been fixtures with the same team: Kevin Appier of the Kansas City Royals and Jeff Cirillo of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Others are veterans making first impressions with new teams: Rod Beck of the Chicago Cubs and Mike Fetters of the Oakland Athletics.

A few are rookies with enormous potential whose only major league experience is a September call-up: Brad Fullmer of the Montreal Expos and Jacob Cruz of the San Francisco Giants.

Ten more players are on 40-man rosters but have no major league experience. Most are hot young prospects teams put on the roster to protect them from being drafted by other organizations: Gabe Kapler of the Detroit Tigers and Russ Ortiz of the San Francisco Giants.

Non-roster invitees fall into three general categories:

Some are aging major leaguers struggling to prolong their careers: Terry Pendleton of the Kansas City Royals and Torey Lovullo of the Cleveland Indians.

Several are prospects, perhaps one year away from breaking in, who want to impress major league brass: David Lamb of the Baltimore Orioles and Jim Parque of the Chicago White Sox.

A handful are young players who put up such strong numbers last season that the major league brass wants to evaluate them first-hand before sending them back to the minors: Robert Fick of the Detroit Tigers and Kevin Millar of the Florida Marlins.

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Charting Their Start

Here’s a look at the 54 Valley and Ventura County players at major league spring training

MAJOR LEAGUE EXPERIENCE

Garrett Anderson, OF, Angels, Kennedy High

Kevin Appier, RHP, Kansas City, Antelope Valley High

Bobby Ayala, RHP, Seattle, Rio Mesa High

Rod Beck, RHP, Chicago Cubs, Grant High

Jim Bruske, RHP, Dodgers, Palmdale High

Damon Buford, OF, Boston, Birmingham High

Jeff Cirillo, 3B, Milwaukee, Providence High

Jacob Cruz, OF, San Francisco, Channel Islands High

Roland De La Maza, RHP, Kansas City, St. Genevieve High

Mike Fetters, RHP, Oakland, Pepperdine

Matt Franco, 3B, New York Mets, Westlake High

Brad Fullmer, 1B, Montreal, Montclair Prep

Chad Krueter, C, Chicago White Sox, Pepperdine

Mike Lieberthal, C, Philadelphia, Westlake High

Mark Loretta, IF, Milwaukee, St. Francis High

Jack McDowell, RHP, Angels, Notre Dame High

Mike Magnante, LHP, Houston, Burroughs High

Ryan McGuire, 1B, Montreal, El Camino Real High

Scott Radinsky, LHP, Dodgers, Simi Valley High

Steve Reed, RHP, San Francisco, Chatsworth High

Bret Saberhagen, RHP, Boston, Cleveland High

Andy Stankiewicz, IF, Arizona, Pepperdine

Jeff Suppan, RHP, Arizona, Crespi High

Derek Wallace, RHP, New York Mets, Chatsworth High/Pepperdine

Matt Whisenant, LHP, Kansas City, La Canada High/Glendale College

Dmitri Young, OF, Cincinnati, Rio Mesa High

Gregg Zaun, C, Florida, St. Francis High

Todd Zeile, 3B, Dodgers, Hart High

MINOR LEAGUERS ON 40-MAN ROSTERS

Ryan Christenson, OF, Oakland, Pepperdine

Bryan Corey, RHP, Arizona, Thousand Oaks High/Pierce College

Bobby Hughes, C, Milwaukee, Notre Dame High

Gabe Kapler, OF, Detroit, Taft High

Brandon Knight, RHP, Texas, Ventura High/Ventura College

Gary Matthews Jr., OF, San Diego, Granada Hills High/Mission College

Steve Montgomery, RHP, Baltimore, Pepperdine

Russ Ortiz, RHP, San Francisco, Montclair Prep

Ryan Radmanovich, OF, Minnesota, Pepperdine

John Snyder, RHP, Chicago White Sox, Westlake High

NON-ROSTER INVITEES

Pat Bryant, OF, Boston, Cleveland High

Robert Fick, C, Detroit, Newbury Park High/Ventura College/CSUN

Tim Laker, C, Tampa Bay, Simi Valley High/Oxnard College

David Lamb, IF, Baltimore, Newbury Park High

Jalal Leach, OF, San Francisco, Pepperdine

Andrew Lorraine, LHP, Oakland, Hart High

Torey Lovullo, IF, Cleveland, Montclair Prep

Jim Parque, LHP, Chicago White Sox, Crescenta Valley High

Terry Pendleton, 3B, Kansas City, Channel Islands High/Oxnard College

Chris Martin, IF, Tampa Bay, Pepperdine

Kevin Millar, 1B, Florida, Hart High

J.P. Roberge, OF, Dodgers, St. Francis High

Roger Salkeld, RHP, Houston, Saugus High

Bob Scanlan, RHP, Houston, Harvard-Westlake High

Chris Sheff, OF, Florida, Pepperdine

Steve Soliz, C, Cleveland, Rio Mesa High