Bluefield’s loss, Blue Jays’ gain

BLUEFIELD — Part of being a minor league manager is dealing with change, such as losing a battery that includes the league’s top pitcher and a catcher who is leading the team in batting average.

That is nothing new for Bluefield Blue Jays manager Dennis Holmberg, who has experienced similar situations often in his 35 years in the dugout.

“It is the nature of the game, you are happy to move guys on and promote them, especially if they come here and perform well enough to get that opportunity,” Holmberg said.

Wholesale changes occurred on Wednesday, with the promotion of lefty pitcher David Rollins and catcher Chris Schaeffer to the Vancouver Canadians, a short-season rookie league team in the Northwest League.

Rollins, who was leading the Appalachian League with a 1.25 ERA (along with a 3-0 record and an 18-2 strikeout-walk ratio) started Thursday for the Canadians and earned the win, working five innings, allowing six hits, one run, no walks and striking out six.

Schaeffer, a free agent signee from N.C. State, was batting .378 with seven RBIs in 10 games.

“Those guys had been playing well and there was a need for them in Vancouver,” Holmberg said. “As it is with any club ahead of you, if somebody is performing a little better down below, it provided a little more opportunity for those guys. Certainly we hate to lose them.”

Bluefield also sent pitcher Jose Vargas and little-used infielder Matt Abraham down to the Gulf Coast League in Florida, following in the path of Yudelmis Hernandez, who already paved that path earlier this month.

With departures came arrivals, as the Blue Jays have added players in the last week, including pitchers Thomas Berryhill and Deivy Estrada, catcher Tim Mahler — son of former Atlanta Braves’ pitcher Rick Mahler — and shortstop Matt Johnson.

Estrada pitched five innings of shutout baseball in Bristol on Wednesday, while Johnson is 2-for-8 in two games for the Jays. Mahler saw action in three games in the GCL and Florida State League, while Berryhill was recently released by Atlanta after posting a 6.91 ERA in nine games in Rome, Ga.

Berryhill, who was a fifth round draft choice by Atlanta in 2009 and pitched at Danville, was signed as a free agent on Tuesday and is expected to pitch a few times for Bluefield before advancing to Vancouver.

“As I tell my guys, you never know who is looking at you,” said Holmberg, of signing Berryhill. “Somebody in our organization scouted him, saw him, maybe scouted him while he was in college and still have some confidence in the kid that he might have some potential.

“Changes also provide opportunities for other guys.”

With Schaeffer gone, Aaron Munoz will see most of the action at catcher, while the .444 (4-for-9) batting Leo Hernandez will get additional playing time.

“It is going to provide (Leo) an opportunity to catch, develop and get some at-bats and that is what it is all about,” Holmberg said.

Baseball will continue on at Bluefield, with the Holmberg and the Blue Jays adjusting to change. The Blue Jays entered Friday’s game with Kingsport with a 12-11 record, one game behind first place Princeton.

“You just have to try and glue the pieces back together a little bit,” Holmberg said. “I guess better now than the end of August if you are game up or a game down.

“It is all about opportunity and doors opening and doors closing for guys.”

•Matinee baseball: Baseball early in the day — other than on Sunday — is a rarity in the Appalachian League, but it will happen twice in five days in Mercer County.

Bluefield will host Kingsport today in an 11 a.m. contest. Princeton will also host a morning game next Wednesday against Johnson City. First pitch is also slated for 11 a.m.

•All-Star choices: All-Star honors at first base in the Appalachian League could come down to Bluefield’s Art Charles and Burlington’s Murray Watts.

The 6-6 foot, 221-pound Charles has been on a tear all season, connecting for eight home runs and 25 runs batted in. He is batting .267 with 20 runs scored, eight doubles, but has struck out 34 times.

Watts, who is even bigger than Charles — at 6-7, 270 pounds — has nine home runs, 23 RBIs, along with 15 runs and three doubles. He has fanned 25 times.

Need a tiebreaker to determine the winner? How about a home run hitting contest. That would be worth the price of a ticket.

Consistent winners: The Elizabethton Twins haven’t had a losing season in the Appy League since 1988. The Twins won the league title in ‘89, and have won six since then. Elizabethton has played for the crown 13 times since 1989, and have won it all seven times.

•Player of Week: Guillermo Pimentel, Pulaski

Pimentel homered five times in a four games, finishing last week hitting .348 with five home runs and 12 RBIs, along with six runs scored. Pimentel had a pair of two home run games.

•Pitcher of Week: Reynaldo Sabala, Pulaski

The Venezuela-born Sabala struck out 12, walked one and allowed just six hits and no runs in three games and six innings on the mound.

League Leaders (Through July 14):

Batting: Rangel Ravelo, BRS .403; Jamal Austin, PUL .385; Steven Ramos, JC .374; Kevan Smith, BRS .373; Kenny Vargas, EZ .373. PR: Joel Caminero, 6th, .358; BF: Andy Fermin, 19th, .319.

Home Runs: Murray Watts, BUR 9; Art Charles, BF 8; Guillermo Pimentel, PUL 8; Chase Davidson, GR, 7; Eddie Rosario, EZ 6; PR: Justin O’Conner, Josh Sale, Cameron Seitzer, Drew Vettleson, all tied with 3.

RBI: Art Charles, BF 25; Guillermo Pimentel, PUL 23; Kennys Vargas, EZ 23; Murray Watts, BUR 23; Justin Trapp, BUR 22; PR: Cameron Seitzer 19.

Stolen Bases: Taylor Motter, PR 14; Steven Ramos, JC 14; Jamal Austin, PUL 12; Drew Vettleson, PR 10; Justin Trapp, BUR 9. BF: Gustavo Pierre 6.

Doubles: Colin Kuhn, BRS 10; Jeffrey Glenn, KP 9; Art Charles, BF 8, 4 others tied with 8. PR: Cameron Seitzer 7.

Triples: Joel Caminero, PR 4; Christopher Hawkins, BF 3, 3 others tied with 3.

Runs: Steven Ramos, JC 28; Eddie Rosario, EZ 25; Colin Kuhn, BRS 21; Justin Trapp, BUR 21; Art Charles, BF 20. PR: Taylor Motter 19.

ERA: David Rollins, BF 1.25; Noah Syndergaard, BF 1.47; Dan Winnie, DV 1.80; Derek Christensen, EZ 1.96; Lucas LaPoint, DV 1.96; PR: Brandon Henderson, 2.05.

Wins: David Rollins, BF 3; Pedro Silvestre, PR 3, 9 others tied with 3.

Strikeouts: Ryan Bollinger, BRS 32; Ambioris Hildalgo, PUL 26; Todd Van Steensel, EZ 26; Akeel Morris, KP 26; Noah Syndergaard, BF 24, 2 others tied with 2; PR: Matthew Spann 21.

Saves: Angel Raga, PUL 6; Madison Boer, EZ 5; 4 tied with 3; PR: Marcus Jensen, Garrett Smith 2 each; BF: Myles Duvall, Miliciades Santana, Ian Kadish, Aaron Sanchez, 1 each.

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

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