The big-league dream came true for Jack Egbert (Kurgan 1995) on Tuesday 21-Apr-2009, when he came out of the bullpen for the Chicago White Sox in a game at Baltimore. He pitched the eighth inning in relief at Camden Yards. Egbert, who had been primarily a starter in the minors, moved to the bullpen at the start of the 2009 season in order to prepare himself for an early call-up to the White Sox. After two appearances with the big club, he was optioned back to Charlotte for further work; he has since gone back to the Knights’ starting rotation, and he won his first two starts of the season in late May.
Frank Herrmann (Rotary 1996) is back in Triple-A as of 7-May, having been promoted to the Columbus Clippers by the Cleveland Indians after a start at Akron, the Tribe’s Double-A affiliate. With the Aeros, Herrmann was 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA over five starts totaling 30.2 innings. As the White Sox did with Egbert, the Indians are hoping to be able to bring Herrmann up as a reliever. He has been working out of the pen at Columbus, after being used mainly as a starter for most of his professional career, including two appearances at Triple-A Buffalo in 2008.
Former Rockies farmhand Isaac Pavlik (Tommy’s 1992) continues to work in independent baseball, as a starting pitcher for the New Jersey Jackals, who play their home games at Montclair State University. Pavlik was the starting and winning pitcher in the Jackals’ first game of 2009, against the American Defenders of New Hampshire at Nashua.