His Relegation to the Bullpen Pays Off

Right-hander Max Regalado’s switch to the bullpen has been a huge success.

Regalado, who struggled last year as a starter for Class-A Vero Beach, going 2-12 with a 5.80 earned-run average, had 21 saves in 30 appearances with a 0.88 ERA as the Vero Beach closer this season.

The 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic was promoted from Vero Beach to double-A San Antonio after sharing the organization’s pitcher-of-the-month honor in June with Luke Prokopec.

Prokopec, a right-hander, continues to shine at San Antonio.

A native of Australia, Prokopec will pitch for his home country in the Olympics with Mission teammate Adrian Burnside. Prokopec is 6-1 with a Texas League-leading 1.69 ERA with 86 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 79 2/3 innings.

Teammate Chin-Feng Chen, an outfielder from Taiwan, remains a top prospect. He’s batting .277 with four home runs and 47 runs batted in.

Angel Pena, a catcher with Albuquerque, is still trying to work his way back to the big club. After an impressive debut with the Dodgers in 1998, Pena last year batted only .208 in 120 major league at-bats. Pena is hitting .296 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs with the Dukes.

The Dukes’ Chris Donnels hit a three-run home run Thursday in a 9-7 victory over the New Orleans Zephyrs. Donnels is batting .343 with 24 home runs and 74 RBIs.