Sanchez Brightens His Future With Red Sox

Rising through the ranks as a shortstop in the Boston Red Sox organization can be a tricky proposition.

Just ask David Eckstein, who was put on waivers by the club in June 2000 despite hitting over .300 in each of his first three minor league seasons. Eckstein has since proven his ample worth with the Angels.

Now comes Freddy Sanchez, a Hollywood native who recently put together a 27-game hitting streak and a stretch of 45 consecutive games in which he reached base safely. The 24-year-old prospect hit .328 at double-A Trenton--eight points higher than his career average before the season--before earning a promotion to triple-A Pawtucket a few weeks ago.

Unlike Eckstein, though, Sanchez appears to be part of Boston’s future plans. With perpetual All-Star Nomar Garciaparra entrenched at shortstop, Sanchez has started splitting time between shortstop and second base. Red Sox second baseman Rey Sanchez will be a free agent after the season, though club officials stress they are in no hurry to promote Freddy Sanchez.

“From an athletic standpoint, [Freddy Sanchez] has everything he needs to play second base,” said Ben Cherington, assistant director of player development with the Red Sox. “Because of that, it’s going to be easier for him to make that adjustment down the road if he has to.”

Said Sanchez: “It doesn’t matter where I play. The main goal is to get to the big-league level.”

If the 5-foot-11, 185-pounder keeps putting up the kind of numbers he did during his 45-game on-base streak, it might not take him long to get there. He hit .352 over that stretch with 62 hits, 29 walks and 38 runs.

Sanchez said it was no coincidence that his 27-game hitting streak started the same day he had a lengthy conversation with Doug Gardner, a sports psychologist with the Red Sox. Sanchez, who describes himself as an intense player, said the meeting calmed him down, made him more patient and helped him realize that there was no reason to stew over situations such as hitting a line-drive out.

“I’d ground out and I’d get upset,” Sanchez said of his previous mentality. “[Gardner] made me realize I didn’t want to do that anymore. This is a game I play for fun.”

Sanchez already has many admirers in baseball circles, Eckstein among them.

“I’ve seen the numbers he’s put up year in and year out, which are fantastic,” Eckstein said. “If he keeps doing that, they’ll give him the opportunity [to play at the major league level].”

* Edmonton right-hander Scott Randall was attempting to tie the Pacific Coast League record of 10 consecutive victories Saturday night when the Trappers played at Tacoma. Randall, a graduate of Goleta Dos Pueblos High, won his ninth consecutive decision for Edmonton--and 11th overall--Monday when he registered a complete-game victory against New Orleans.

The 26-year-old started the season with New Britain of the double-A Eastern League, where he went 2-0 with a 3.48 earned-run average in five starts. He is 9-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 14 appearances at Edmonton.

Originally selected by Colorado in the 11th round of the 1995 draft, Randall was 59-54 with a 3.96 ERA in seven minor league seasons heading into this year.

Angels’ System

It has been a rough couple of weeks for the Angels’ recent top draft picks. Right-hander Joe Torres, the club’s top pick in 2000, has given up 17 runs--14 earned--over 17 innings in his last four starts for Class-A Cedar Rapids, giving him a 7.41 ERA over that span.

Teammate Casey Kotchman, the Angels’ top prospect and their first pick in 2001, is out for the season after injuring his left wrist July 3 while sliding. The first baseman had the wrist put in a cast July 19 after being examined by a specialist in Los Angeles. He was hitting .292 with four home runs and 42 RBIs at the time of the injury.

Joe Saunders, the club’s top pick in this year’s draft, has compiled a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings with rookie-league Provo.

* Bobby Jenks pitched his finest outing as a Rancho Cucamonga Quake on July 18 when he struck out 13 during a 2-0 shutout against the High Desert Mavericks. Jenks (2-3, 3.83 ERA), who had a no-hitter for 5 1/3 innings and threw one pitch in the ninth inning clocked at 100 mph, gave up two hits and three walks.

* Salt Lake right-hander Chris Bootcheck was hammered in his first two starts after being promoted from double-A Arkansas, giving up 10 runs--all earned--in 11 innings for an 8.18 ERA. Bootcheck was 8-7 with a 4.81 ERA for Arkansas.

* Salt Lake, clinging to first place in the Central Division of the Pacific Coast League, could drop out of the lead this week if it continues its woes on the road against Iowa. The Stingers have lost 11 consecutive games in Des Moines, where they open a four-game series Thursday.

* Someone on the Cedar Rapids media relations staff has a little too much time on his hands. A Kernel official has determined that the team is 25-6 when Dana St. Germain, the club’s director of entertainment, spray paints home plate before games.

Dodgers’ System

Las Vegas catcher Dave Ross became the third player in the minors this season to log consecutive two-home run games, July 16-17 against Fresno. After hitting two home runs with three RBIs in the 51s’ 7-5 victory July 16, Ross belted a two-run homer and a three-run homer in a 7-2 win the following day, ending a stretch in which he hit six home runs in five games. Ross is hitting .278 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs this season.

* Pitchers Ruddy Lugo and Heath Totten were promoted to double-A Jacksonville on Sunday after excelling for Class-A Vero Beach. Lugo ranked second in the Florida State League with a 2.38 ERA, and his 8-2 record was the best on the team. Totten ranked third in the league with nine wins.

Pitcher Brian Pilkington, the Dodgers’ top pick in the 2001 draft, moved up from South Georgia to fill one of the spots. Pilkington, nephew of former major league pitcher Bert Blyleven, was 8-4 with a 3.45 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 112 innings for South Georgia. The Garden Grove Santiago High graduate walked only 13 batters.

* Dodger pitcher Odalis Perez hasn’t been the only pleasant surprise of the trade that sent Gary Sheffield to the Atlanta Braves and brought Perez and Brian Jordan to Los Angeles. Andrew Brown, a 21-year-old right-hander for Vero Beach, pitched a one-hitter in a 3-0 victory over Brevard County in his last outing to improve to 7-9 with a respectable 3.67 ERA. Brown gave up only a third-inning double and three walks, hit a batter and struck out a career-high 10.

California League

Josh Hamilton had hoped this would be the season he put all his injuries behind him and showed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays that they had made a wise decision by selecting him first overall in the 1999 draft.

Instead, Hamilton is back in a familiar place--on the disabled list.

The highly touted Bakersfield outfielder tore the rotator cuff in his left shoulder earlier this month and is out for the season.

Hamilton, who had already endured three stints on the disabled list this season, has battled injuries since his first full professional season.

The left-handed hitter was batting .303 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs in 56 games this season, primarily as a designated hitter, before his latest injury.

Hamilton’s saga started in 2000 when, as a member of Class-A Charleston, a right knee injury required arthroscopic surgery 96 games into the season. A car accident, coupled with back and leg injuries, limited Hamilton to 100 at-bats in 2001.

This season, a sore shoulder, a lower back strain and rib cage injuries had kept him sidelined before the torn rotator cuff.

Nonetheless, Hamilton was named to the league’s All-Star team and had remained hopeful of a promotion before his latest setback.

Now he can only look forward to spring training 2003.

* League attendance is 9% ahead of last year’s pace, as all 10 clubs reported increases through June 30. San Bernardino, the South Division’s first-half champion, reported a league-high 38% increase and is averaging 2,886 fans a game. Rancho Cucamonga continues to lead the league, averaging 4,020.