Results tagged ‘ Rory Rhodes ’
Rory Rhodes is ready to play in the major league
SMP Images/Scott Powick
By Jorge Branco, Noosa News
Rory Rhodes started playing T-ball at Narangba 17 years ago.
He still lives in the same house down the road from the field but he’s setting his sights a lot higher these days, namely on playing with the Minnesota Twins in Major League Baseball.
The 21-year-old left for the States on Sunday, to head into spring training with the Twins as part of a seven-year-deal with the club.
“I’m looking forward to it, I really am,” he said.
“You enjoy the time that you’re back here and you’re catching up with a lot of people but after a while you start feeling the urge to get back into it.
“I’m feeling good about this season.”
It’s Rhodes’ fifth season with the Twins. They were one of several teams that started making offers when he turned 16, after a couple of years of Australian junior team selection.
The first baseman and outfielder plays in the minor leagues with the Twins for the US summer before coming home to play with the Narangba Demons in the Baseball Queensland Major League and the Brisbane Bandits in the Australian Baseball League.
He played Class-A ball last season, four divisions below the majors, a level that he said was roughly equivalent to ABL ball in Australia.
Rhodes didn’t know what to expect when he first went to the Twins but said it had made a huge difference to his game to train with major league players.
“When I first started going over there I wouldn’t have thought I’d be training with a lot of those guys but now and then they do come down and they hang out,” he said.
“It’s a big eye-opener.
“It’s really cool to play with those guys who are big stars.”
One of those big stars is Twins catcher and 2009 American League Most Valuable Player Joe Mauer, who Rhodes was lucky enough to play with several times in pre-season matches.
Rhodes is hoping to make the step up to Class A-Advanced ball this season, the next step on his journey to the majors.
He said all he could do was perform well and give the selectors the option to move him up, taking him another step closer to his dream of Major League Baseball.
“It’s not an easy one but that’s why they call them dreams I think,” he said.
“You’ve got to do everything in your power to fight your way up to that.
“It’s definitely still there for me.”
Rory Rhodes homers; David Kandilas productive
Rory Rhodes gets his 6th home run
Rory Rhodes hit his 6th home run in the 2nd inning for the Elizabethton Twins today in their 7-5 win over Greenville. Rory is on a mini roll it seems having hit safely in his last 4 games.
Today he went 2-5, scoring 2 runs and the home run RBI. He is currently hitting .278.
Also hitting safely in his last 4 games is David Kandilas who went 2-4 today for the Asheville Tourists in their 6-0 shut out of Savannah. David hit a RBI single and a RBI double and scored a run in a very productive day.
Rhodes homers: Warner takes loss: Wade extends hitting streak: Beau Bishop
Rory Rhodes has been a little quiet of late but he seems to have come out of his shell the last couple of days. Yesterday he went 1-3 and today he let loose going 2-4 with a double and a home run in E’Town’s 5-1 win over the Kingsport Mets. Rory is hitting .275.
Logan Wade’s triple and subsequent run against the Red Sox today was the only offensive success for the Twins and extended Logan’s hitting streak to 9 games. He had a 1-4 day with a run and is hitting .343 for his last 10 games.
The Red Sox won 5-1 and New Zealander Beau Bishop also had a 1-4 day with a run for the Sox
Josh Warner took the loss today when Williamsport suffered a 2 hit shut out going down 4-0 to Jamestown.
Josh was 6INN, 5H, 3R, 1BB, 5K. His record is now W2-6 with a 4.41ERA
Joshua Hendricks, Rory Rhodes, Ryan Battaglia, Dylan Child
Josh Hendricks
Joshua Hendricks, Elizabethton Twins, went 2-5 scoring 2 runs and a RBI. Josh is currently hitting . 261 and .297 in his last 10 games
Rory Rhodes also of the Elizabethton Twins is has a batting AVg of .252 after going 3-5 today. Josh scored 2 runs and 2 RBI.
Ryan Battaglia, AZL Indians, had 2 walks today scoring a run. Ryan is currently hitting .212 and .240 in his last 10 games.
Dylan Child of the GCL Pirates came on as a pinch hitter. Dylan hit a double and walked.
Rookie Leagues – Darryl George, Josh Hendricks, Jackson Lodge, Rory Rhodes
Darryl George leads his team with 17RBI
Darryl George drove in another run today for the Princeton Rays in their 6-5 win over Bluefield. Darryl went 1-4 and leads the team with 17RBI.
In his 2nd start for the season Jackson Lodge produced a solid 4 innings for the Pirates in their 3-2 loss to the Phillies. He gave up a single run in each of his 1st 2 innings then produced 2 scoreless innings to finish with 4INN, 7H, 2R, 0BB, 1K. He has a 3.15ERA
The Elizabethton Twins lost to Johnson City 6-4 with Rory Rhodes having consecutive multi hit games going 2-5 whilst Joshua Hendriks went 1-4 with 1 run and 1RBI. Rory is hitting .309 and Josh .250.
Corey Adamson, Darryl George, Rory Rhodes, Aaron Sookee
Corey Adamson
The Eugene Emeralds snapped their 7 game winning streak today when they went down 4-1 to Vancouver. Corey Adamson was Eugene’s standout with a 3-4 day scoring their only run. He is hitting .242.
Darryl George went 2-4 for the Rays in their 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays. He is hitting .284.
Rory Rhodes also went 2-4 scoring 1 run for E’Town in a 7-4 win over Johnson City raising his AVG to .304.
Aaron Sookee threw a scoreless 8th in a one sided 11-2 win giving him a 4.50ERA.
Rookie Leagues – Josh Hendricks, Rory Rhodes
The Elizabethton Twins played a double header today with Rory Rhodes playing in both and going 1-3, 1R on a double and 0-4 in the 2nd game. Whilst July has been lean for Rory he has an overall AVG of .310. Slumps don’t last forever.
Josh Hendricks had a better day going 3-4 in the 2nd game, including a double and scoring a run. Josh is hitting .250.
A – Ryan Battaglia, David Kandilas, Rory Rhodes
Ryan Battaglia
Whilst David Kandilas (0-3) and Rory Rhodes (1-5) are having a quiet week Ryan Battaglia followed up his 1st home run on July 9th with a triple yesterday going 2-3 with 1 run and 2RBI against the D’Backs.
Ryan is hitting .303 in his last 10 games.
David is in Rome this weekend so may well find himself facing Peter Moylan.
James Beresford – having a good July – mixed for Rory Rhodes & Andrew Russell.
He has hit in every game this month. James Beresford is 7/18 (.389) in July.
He is hitting .283 for the season which puts him clearly among the team leaders and more encouraging is that he is beginning to produce multi hit games.
Rory Rhodes has only had 3 hits in July (3/22) but he has hit a single, double and home run. Despite July he is still hitting .358 for the season.
July has however, been a mixed month for Andrew Russell. He has pitched in 4 games for 2.2 innings giving up only 1 run but at the same time walking 7 when his total for the season (35.1 innings) is 14 walks.
Maestri to head to NPB in Japan
Alex Maestri is heading to Nippon Professional Baseball; Rory Rhodes is tearing up the Appy League; other Bandits updates
By Alexis Brudnicki
Former Cubs minor league pitcher Alex Maestri
Several of your favourite Brisbane Bandits are spending the Australian Baseball League off-season overseas and are continuing to play, whether it is in affiliated ball or professional baseball in various independent leagues.
Successes and failures are regular occurrences in the game, but for the most part, the men who spent the summer in Brisbane are finding a great amount of success this North American season.
Brisbane’s Italian ace right-hander Alex Maestri began this season with the Kagawa Olive Guyners of the Shikoku Island League of Japan, making himself even more internationally known than he already was. Since being named the Pitcher of the Month in the independent league in May, he has been picked up by a Japanese big league team in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Rory Rhodes had a rough start to his season with Minnesota’s Class-A Beloit Snappers, and suffered a concussion at the end of May. Since heading back to the Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League, however, Rhodes has been on a tear.
