The 2007 Amateur Draft bore a lot of fruit for the Arizona Diamondbacks and
first-year scouting director Tom Allison. For the most part, that is a
very good thing for the Diamondbacks. To make room for all of these
exciting new additions to the organization, however, the club had to cut ties
with five of its veteran minor leaguers. RHP Osbek Castillo, C Julio Parra, SS Shea McFeely, LHP Mark Romanczuk, and LHP Craig Pfautz were each granted their release from the organization.
FutureBacks.com named Osbek Castillo as one of the
Pitchers of the Year for
Missoula in 2006 after he dominated that level with a 1.04 ERA and 0.75
WHIP. Even then, we knew that
the 2007 season would
determine Castillo's fate, as his dominance was mainly due to the fact that
he was a 25-year old striking out teenagers. At Hi-A and Double-A last
year, advanced hitters weren't chasing Castillo's breaking pitches, and he
walked nearly a batter per inning as a result. Castillo combined for a
5.59 ERA just one year after posting that dead-ball era mark of 1.04 in 2006.
Shea McFeely
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2006 28th-rounder Shea McFeely showcased a fabulous
throwing arm from the hot corner. However, in two years with the
organization, McFeely also made more than his share of miscues at third base,
and did little to show that he could hit enough to succeed as a corner infield.
He turns 24 in April, and would have been hard-pressed to win a spot on
Visalia's roster, making his departure somewhat unsurprising.
Catcher Julio Parra never really made his mark on the
organization. In two years with short-season affiliates, Parra batted .174
and slugged .464. His release came as no surprise, as catchers Ed Easley
and Sean Coughlin were added in the early rounds of June's draft, and the
organization was already deep at catcher in the lower levels.
Mark Romanczuk
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The real shock of the group was Mark Romanczuk.
FutureBacks readers will remember Mark for the
weekly journals he
wrote for us as he rehabbed his arm during the 2006 season. More than just
friendly and articulate, Romanczuk posted a solid 3.73 ERA for the South Bend Silver Hawks last season despite the blemish of a 5.40 April ERA as he worked
his way back from the injury.
His departure also continues a mass exodus of Stanford
alumni from the organization, as Chris Carter and Carlos Quentin were both
traded in the last six months. Catcher John Hester and farm director A.J. Hinch may want to keep their suitcases packed.
Mark was a fourth-round pick in 2005, and figured to
get a better chance to prove his health and aptitude than what he was given.
We will miss him here at FutureBacks. Readers who would like to send
well-wishes to Mark may email
future_backs@yahoo.com, and we will forward the comments to him.
Like Romanczuk, Craig Pfautz was a left handed pitcher
in the organization coming off a solid season. Pfautz did have an ERA
approaching 5.00, but he was a groundball artist with excellent control.
The fact that either pitcher was deemed expendable by the organization comes as
a shock, as the Diamondbacks lost top southpaws Brett Anderson, Greg Smith, and
Dana Eveland in the Dan Haren trade. Randy Johnson's contract is up at the
end of the season, and Doug Davis will become a free agent after 2009.
Instead of jettisoning left-handers, the Diamondbacks should be bolstering what
is easily the weakest position in the organization.
Craig Pfautz
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Pfautz brought
a great attitude with
him to the ballpark every day. Like Romanczuk, his work ethic is such that
he should latch on with another organization.
Want to write
for FutureBacks.com? FutureBacks is now opening
internships for the upcoming 2008 season. If you live near one of
the six Diamondbacks minor league affiliates, know baseball, and
have a writing background, send your resume
and two sample pieces of writing (at least one of which must
be a journalistic piece about baseball) to
future_backs@yahoo.com. Applicants must be
able to attend a minimum of three games per homestand, and
students looking for course credit must get approval from
their instructors.