June 22, 2007

Shoulder injury sidelines Windsor in Sacramento
Southern California has produced more than its share of major league players. In this space, we'll take a look at how Southland players are faring in the minors. This week: the triple-A Pacific Coast
By Bob Cuomo, Times Staff Writer

Cal State Fullerton didn't have a very long stay at the College World Series in Omaha this year. The Titans lost their first two games and were eliminated. In 2004, though, the Titans were much more successful. They won their fourth national title by defeating Texas, 3-2.

One of the key performers on that team was right-hander Jason Windsor, who limited the Longhorns to five hits while striking out 10. He was named the College World Series MVP.

Windsor, the Oakland Athletics' third-round draft choice that year, is considered one of the organization's top pitching prospects.

In 10 starts this season for the Sacramento River Cats, he is 5-3 with a 5.40 earned-run average. He won four consecutive starts from May 1 to May 18, during which his ERA was 2.38. He yielded six earned runs in 23 2/3 innings and struck out out 21.

However, he hasn't pitched since May 23, when he lost to the Salt Lake Bees. He gave up seven runs — six earned — and 10 hits in six innings. He suffered a right shoulder strain and was put on the disabled list.

Windsor had an impressive 2006 season, going 17-2 with a 3.63 ERA (4-1 and 2.97 at double-A Midland of the Texas League; 13-1 and 3.81 in 26 starts at Sacramento).

His performance for the River Cats earned him a promotion to the majors. He pitched in four games for the A's, yielding 21 hits and 10 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings for an ERA of 6.59.

Left-hander Jason Vargas of the New Orleans Zephyrs, is 5-4 with a 4.77 earned-run average after beating the Oklahoma Red Hawks, 8-3, last Saturday night.

Vargas, the Florida Marlins' second round selection in 2004 from Long Beach State, took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Salt Lake Bees on June 5. He retired the leadoff batter, but then yielded consecutive singles. One out later, he gave up a run-scoring single and was replaced.

Vargas made 18 starts for the Marlins over 2005 and 2006. He was 6-7 with a 5.25 ERA. The New York Mets acquired him as part of a four-player trade on Nov. 20, 2006.

He was called up by the Mets on May 17 to start against the Chicago Cubs. He didn't get the decision in a 6-5 victory, yielding six hits — two homers — and five runs in seven innings. He was sent back to New Orleans the following day when Orlando Hernandez was activated from the 15-day disabled list.

Ryan Christianson was the Seattle Mariners' first-round pick — the 11th overall pick — in the 1999 draft from Riverside Arlington High. He was rated by Baseball America as the best high school catcher, fourth-best position player and the seventh-best overall prospect in that draft.

Christianson had a fairly productive season in 2001 with San Bernardino of the Class-A California League (he batted .248 in 134 games with 12 homers and 85 RBIs and had a .993 fielding percentage). But things didn't work out with the Mariners, who released him in 2005 (he had an overall batting average of .246 and an on-base percentage of .320).

The St. Louis Cardinals signed him to a minor league contract last December. He's with the Memphis Redbirds and is batting .220 with five homers and 13 RBIs as a part-time catcher.

Dave Matranga, who signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers last November, platoons at shortstop for the Oklahoma Red Hawks. In 37 games, he is batting .281 with six homers and 19 RBIs. He's also been solid defensively, committing only two errors.

Matranga, who played at Pepperdine, was originally signed by the Houston Astros, who drafted him on the sixth round in 1998. He was granted free agency on Oct. 15, 2004. He signed a minor league contract with the Angels on Jan. 5, 2005. He was released after batting .239 in 58 games with the Salt Lake Bees.

He then signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres on Jan. 5, 2006. The Padres released him after he batted only .219 (66 for 302) with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 92 games with the Portland Beavers.

Update Dept.:

Justin Lehr, the right-hander from USC who signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners in January, is 6-1 with a 3.19 ERA for the Tacoma Rainers. Opponents are batting only .257 against him and he has walked only 26 In 84 2/3 innings.

His best game of the season was on May 30 when he beat Omaha, 5-0, to improve to 6-0 while lowering his ERA to 2.34. He went eight innings, limiting the Royals to five hits — all singles — while walking one.

The loss came on June 4 when he was roughed up in a 12-5 loss to the Iowa Cubs. He yielded eight earned runs, seven hits and walked four in 3 1/3 innings.

Third baseman Ian Stewart, the former Westminster La Quinta High star who was the Colorado Rockies' first-round pick in 2003, is batting .293 for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He leads the club in home runs (nine), runs (45) and is second in RBIs (41). He was named to the U.S. team for the 2007 Futures All-Star game to be played on July 8 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

"Minor League Spotlight" is a weekly web-exclusive feature that appears Fridays.