P.J. Antoniato
Antoniato earned an early season promotion from Short-Season A
affiliate Batavia to Advanced A Clearwater of the Florida State
League. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound shortstop got off to a solid start
at the plate, hitting .300 with Batavia and .244 with four
extra-base hits in 16 games at Clearwater. Antoniato was a 15th
round selection of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2005 draft and
went on to hit .198 with two doubles, a triple and 13 RBI in 34
games with Batavia in 2005.
Rich Aurilia
Aurilia resurrected his career in Cincinnati, helping the Reds to
an 80-82 record by hitting .300 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI. He
was versatile as well as productive, logging innings at first,
second and third base and putting up big numbers in limited
at-bats. The 6-foot-1 infielder signed as a free agent in the
offseason and headed back to San Francisco, where he was a National
League All-Star in 2001. Aurilia was selected by the Texas Rangers
in the 24th round of the 1992 amateur draft after an All-BIG EAST
career at St. John's.
Joe Burke
Burke earned a promotion to Advanced A Tampa in 2006 and went on to
hit .293 with five doubles, nine RBI and 13 runs scored in 29
games. Burke was selected on the first day of the 2005 draft, going
in the 18th round to the hometown New York Yankees with the 559th
overall selection. A two-year starter with the Red Storm, Burke
played in 37 games with Staten Island in 2005 and recorded a .220
batting average, four doubles, a home run and 13 RBI in 118
at-bats.
Rob Delaney
Delaney was the latest Red Storm player to sign a professional
contract, joining the Twins in mid-June and heading to the club's
Gulf Coast League affiliate to start his career. A steady workhorse
while at St. John's, Delaney went 1-3 with a 4.74 ERA, 30
strikeouts and just one walk in 38 innings. After his season in the
GCL was completed, he earned the promotion to Fort Myers to make
three appearances in August and September.
Mike Dzurilla
Dzurilla played alongside Antoniato at Advanced A Clearwater in the
Philadelphia Phillies organization and hit .217 with five doubles,
a triple and 13 runs scored in 30 games. He was a seventh round
draft choice of the Chicago Cubs in 1999 and has played eight
seasons of professional baseball in the Cubs and Phillies
organizations.
Craig Hansen
Hansen, a first-round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox in 2005,
began his second professional season with the Double-A Portland Sea
Dogs and was quickly promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket after five
appearances. Hansen spent time as a starter at Pawtucket in an
effort to refine his secondary pitches, was recalled by Boston and
posted a 6.63 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 38 innings. In 2005, Hansen
made history by becoming the first Red Sox player to make it to
Boston the same year he was drafted.
C.J. Nitkowski
Nitkowski was lights-out with the Indianapolis Indians, the
Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The veteran went 5-1
with four saves and 57 strikeouts in 58 appearances, and allowed 57
hits in 60.2 innings of work. Nitkowski, who made his major league
debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1995, spent 10 seasons in the
majors with the Reds, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, New York
Mets, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and
Washington Nationals.
Anthony Sullivan
Sullivan had a solid sophomore season in the Los Angeles Angels
organization, recording a 2-1 record, 3.97 ERA and better than a
strikeout per inning (35 in 34 IP). Sullivan, who was selected in
the 19th round of the 2005 draft by the Los Angeles Angels, has
seen mostly bullpen action in his two professional seasons, making
38 relief appearances and one start and recording a 7-3 career
record.
Greg Thomson
Thomson followed up a productive rookie season with the
Rookie-Level Missoula Osprey in 2005 with another dynamic season in
2006. He hit .277 with 28 doubles, four home runs, 41 RBI and 14
stolen bases over 112 games patrolling center field. Thomson was
the highest draft choice of the Red Storm's position players in
2005, going to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 15th round, and went
on to hit .270 with 14 extra-base hits, 29 runs scored and 20 RBI
in 49 games in his first season.
Anthony Varvaro
Varvaro made his professional debut with the Arizona League
Mariners after missing much of his first two seasons recovering
from Tommy John surgery. He was dominant in limited innings for the
AZL Mariners, posting a 1.64 ERA and 15 strikeouts and allowing
just seven hits in 11 innings of work. Despite missing the end of
his junior season with the elbow injury, Varvaro still earned a
12th round pick by the Mariners and was likely to go in the top
three rounds if healthy.
Will Vogl
Vogl played just two games for the Short-Season A Brooklyn
Cyclones before advancing to Class-A Hagerstown. He made his
presence known quickly with the Suns, hitting a home run in his
first game and second at-bat in Hagerstown. In 55 games with the
Suns, Vogl hit .250 with seven doubles, four home runs, 21 RBI and
four stolen bases.