Major League Alumni: Mahoning Valley Scrappers
By Drew Balen
Team: Mahoning Valley Scrappers
League: New York-Penn League
Class Level: Short-Season A
Major League Affiliate: Cleveland Indians
City: Niles, Ohio
Population: 20,932
Ballpark: Eastwood Field
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers joined the New York-Penn League in 1999. The Scrappers won the League Championship in 2004 to go along with four Division titles (1999, 2000, 2004, and 2009). Mahoning Valley has been affiliated with the Cleveland Indians since that inaugural 1999 season.
Some notable alumni that played for the Scrappers before making it to the major leagues include:
Victor Martinez (C): In 1999, Martinez hit .277 with 4 HR and 36 RBI in 64 games with Mahoning Valley in his first professional season. Martinez signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1996 as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. The four-time All-Star (2004, 2007, 2009 & 2010) has played in 1149 career MLB games over the last ten seasons, as a member of Cleveland, Boston, and Detroit.
C.C. Sabathia (LHP): In 1999, Sabathia posted a 1.83 ERA in 6 starts with Mahoning Valley in his second professional season. Sabathia was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1st round (20th overall) of the 1998 MLB amateur draft out of Vallejo High School (Vallejo, California). The five-time All-Star (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 & 2011) has started 355 career MLB games over the last eleven seasons, as a member of Cleveland, Milwaukee, and the New York Yankees. He won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award and was a member of the 2009 World Series Champion Yankees.
Ryan Church (OF): In 2000, Church hit .298 with 10 HR and 65 RBI in 73 games with Mahoning Valley in his first professional season. Church was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 14th round of the 2000 MLB amateur draft out of the University of Nevada (Reno, Nevada). Church has played in 654 career MLB games over the course of his seven year career, as a member of Montreal/Washington, New York Mets, Arizona, and Pittsburgh.
John McDonald (SS): In 2000, McDonald hit .118 with 1 RBI in 5 games with Mahoning Valley in his fifth professional season. McDonald also played 1 game with Mahoning Valley in 2003 while on a rehab assignment. McDonald was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 12th round of the 1996 MLB amateur draft out of Providence College (Providence, Rhode Island). McDonald has played in 884 career MLB games over his thirteen year career, as a member of Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, and Arizona.
Hector Luna (2B): In 2000, Luna hit .316 with 4 RBI in 5 games with Mahoning Valley during his first professional season. Luna was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1999 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. Luna has played in 311 career MLB games over six seasons, as a member of St. Louis, Cleveland, Toronto, and Florida.
Josh Bard (C): In 2001, Bard hit .273 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in 13 games with Mahoning Valley during his second professional season. Bard was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 3rd round of the 1999 MLB amateur draft out of Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas). He was traded by the Rockies to the Cleveland Indians along with Jody Gerut (OF) in exchange for Jacob Cruz (OF) in June 2001. Bard has played in 586 career MLB games over ten seasons, as a member of Cleveland, Boston, San Diego, Washington, and Seattle.
Fausto Carmona (RHP): In 2002, Carmona posted a 0.00 ERA over 3 games with Mahoning Valley in his first professional season. Carmona was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 2000 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He was a member of the 2010 American League All-Star team. Carmona has pitched in 181 career MLB games over six seasons, as a member of Cleveland.
Ben Francisco (OF): In 2002, Francisco hit .349 with 3 HR and 23 RBI in 58 games with Mahoning Valley during his first professional season. Francisco was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 5th round of the 2002 MLB amateur draft out of University of California (Berkeley, California). Francisco has played in 460 career MLB games over five seasons, as a member of Cleveland and Philadelphia.
Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B): In 2003, Kouzmanoff hit .272 with 8 HR and 33 RBI in 54 games with Mahoning Valley during his first professional season. Kouzmanoff also played in 3 games in 2005 with Mahoning Valley during a rehab assignment. Kouzmanoff was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 6th round of the 2003 MLB amateur draft out of the University of Nevada (Reno, Nevada). Kouzmanoff has played in 672 career MLB games over six seasons, as a member of Cleveland, San Diego, Oakland, and Colorado.
Ryan Garko (1B): In 2003, Garko hit .273 with 4 HR and 16 RBI in 45 games with Mahoning Valley during his first professional season. Garko was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 3rd round of the 2003 MLB amateur draft out of Stanford (Stanford, California). Garko has played in 463 career MLB games over six seasons, as a member of Cleveland, San Francisco, and Texas.
Aaron Laffey (LHP): In 2004, Laffey posted a record of 3-1 with a 1.24 ERA in 8 starts with Mahoning Valley during his second professional season. Laffey was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 16th round of the 2003 MLB amateur draft out of Allegany High School (Cresaptown, Maryland). Laffey has pitched in 126 career MLB games over five seasons, as a member of Cleveland, Seattle, and the New York Yankees.
Trevor Crowe (OF): In 2005, Crow hit .255 with 1 HR and 6 RBI in 12 games with Mahoning Valley during his first professional season. Crowe was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1st round (14th overall) of the 2005 MLB amateur draft out of the University of Arizona (Tucson, Arizona). Crowe has played in 205 career MLB games over the last three seasons, as a member of Cleveland.
Josh Tomlin (RHP): In 2006, Tomlin posted a record of 8-2 with a 2.09 ERA in 15 games with Mahoning Valley during his first professional season. Tomlin was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 19th round of the 2006 MLB amateur draft out of Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas). Tomlin has made 38 career MLB starts over the last two seasons, as a member of Cleveland.
Lonnie Chisenhall (3B): In 2008, Chisenhall hit .290 with 5 HR and 45 RBI in 68 games with Mahoning Valley in his first professional season. Chisenhall was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1st round (29th overall) of the 2008 MLB amateur draft out of Pitt Community College (Winterville, North Carolina). Chisenhall played in 66 games with Cleveland in 2011, which marked his first MLB season.
Jason Kipnis (2B): In 2009, Kipnis hit .306 with 1 HR and 19 RBI in 29 games with Mahoning Valley during his first professional season. Kipnis was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 2nd round of the 2009 MLB amateur draft out of Arizona State (Tempe, Arizona). Kipnis played in 36 games with Cleveland in 2011, which was his first season in the majors.
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