Midwest League (A)

Alumni playing in the Midwest League: 10
Most Numerous Team: Kane County Cougars (3)

A pair of former Big Train teammates earned spots on the Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star Team. Connor Hoehn (Big Train '07-'08) won seven games out of the bullpen for the Kane County Cougars and struck out 101 batters in 87.2 innings. Scott Schneider (Big Train '08) was promoted to the California League after his All-Star campaign for the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

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Bour impressed as much as his brother Jason in 2010, hitting .291/.375/.436 for the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League. In 127 games, Bour collected 138 hits, including 31 doubles, a triple, and twelve home runs. Bour was second in the League with 87 runs batted in and scored 59. Bour walked 58 times and struck out an even 100. He was successful in his only stolen base attempt of 2010.

Bour began his professional career with the Arizona League Cubs in 2009 and hit .273/.323/.455 in 14 games, with four doubles and two home runs before earning a promotion to the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. For Boise, Bour collected 47 hits in 48 games with 13 doubles and two home runs. The first baseman drove in 27 runs and scored 17 for the Hawks, and he walked 20 times to 28 strikeouts in 182 at-bats.

Signing after being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th Round of the 2010 MLB Draft, Burnette reported to Class-A Short Season Mahoning Valley, where he hit .274/. 312/.456 in 64 games. He collected 68 hits, including 15 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. Burnette drove in 28 runs and scored 29, walked 13 times and struck out 55. He earned a promotion to the Class-A Lake County Captains, where he appeared in eight games, going 5-for-27 with two doubles and a home run.

Gilmartin hit .245/.326/.371 for the Class-A Kane County Cougars in 2010. He collected 103 hits, including a team-high 30 doubles, four triples, and five home runs. Gilmartin scored 41 runs and drove in 53. He walked 46 times to 118 strikeouts and was successful on 15 of 20 stolen-base attempts.

Gilmartin was assigned to the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League after being drafted by the Oakland A’s in 2009. He collected 53 hits, including 10 doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Gilmartin drove in 22 runs and scored 34 on 25 walks and stole five bases in seven attempts.

Hall hit .224/.310/.316 for the Burlington Bees of the Appalachian League in 2010. He collected 97 hits, including 25 doubles, three triples, and three home runs. Hall drove in 41 runs and scored 67 on 55 walks. He stole 19 of 27 bases.

After signing as a non-drafted free agent with the Kansas City Royals, Hall went 1-for-5 in two games for the Burlington Bees of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. His one hit was an RBI-double.

In his first full professional season, Hoehn went 7-4, 3.80 in 44 relief appearances for the Class-A Kane County Cougars and earned a spot on the Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star Team. Hoehn was one of the team’s steadiest relievers, and would have posted jaw-dropping numbers had he not faded over his final ten games of the season and allowed 17 runs in his final 18.2 innings-pitched. Still, Hoehn struck out 101 batters in 87.2 innings and walked just 39. He allowed 40 runs (37 earned) on 69 hits, including six home runs. Opponents hit just .216 off of him for the year, despite hitting .329 off of him over his last ten games.

Hoehn was drafted in 2009 for the second time in his career and signed with the Oakland Athletics. He headed to the Arizona League for two games before earning a quick promotion to the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League. With Vancouver, Hoehn made 15 appearances as the team’s closer, going 0-1, 1.00 with seven saves. He struck out 25 batters to just seven walks in 18 innings and allowed just two earned runs on nine hits. Hoehn earned saves in four of his final five appearances. Baseball America rated Hoehn's 2009 campaign as the fifth best pro debut for '09 draftees from junior colleges.

In his first full professional season in 2010, Karcich posted solid numbers, hitting .273/.376/.431 for the Class-A Cedar Rapids Kernels, where he played with three other Ripken League alumni. He collected 81 hits in 93 games, including 21 doubles, four triples, and six home runs. Karcich drove in 29 runs and scored 56. He walked 44 times to 63 strikeouts and was successful in half of his 14 stolen-base attempts.

The Angels' most improved position player in instructional league, Karcich hit .235/.363/.374 in 53 games as the shortstop for the Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League after being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in June. He collected 44 hits, 11 doubles, and five home runs. Karcich drove in 22 runs and scored 37. He also walked 30 times to 40 strikeouts.

Notti went 1-0, 4.60 in 34 relief appearances for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2010. He struck out 67 batters in 62.2 innings and walked just 23. Notti allowed 35 runs (32 earned) on 78 hits, including four home runs. Notti allowed a run in just one of his last ten appearances of the season.

Notti continued to impress in his second professional season, going 4-1, 3.83 in 2009 for the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League. He made eight starts and four relief appearances, striking out 32 batters to just six walks in 42.1 innings. Notti allowed 30 runs (only 18 of which were earned) on 49 hits.

Notti posted solid numbers for the Cardinals of the Rookie-Level Gulf Coast League after being drafted in 2008. He went 2-4, 3.20 in six starts and seven relief appearances and struck out 33 batters in 45 innings-pitched. He walked just 17 batters, and allowed 16 earned runs on 40 hits. Opposing batters hit just .230 off of him.

Rowland got off to a quick start after signing with the Detroit Tigers and reporting to the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn League in 2010. He went 15-for-44 (.341) in 11 games, with a double, an RBI, and nine runs. He walked seven times to 11 strikeouts and stole four bases before earning a promotion to the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League. There, Rowland hit .281/.383/.367 in 57 games, with 59 hits, nine doubles, three triples, and a home run. He drove in 24 runs and scored 42 for the Whitecaps. Rowland walked 34 times to 51 strikeouts and stole five of eight bases.

Russell moved quickly after the Angels drafted him in the fourth round in 2010. He reported to the Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League, where he went 4-0, 3.41 in six starts and a relief appearance. Russell allowed 12 runs on 27 hits and just three walks in 31.2 innings for Orem. He struck out 31 batters. After his promotion, Russell went 2-3, 5.31 in eight starts for Cedar Rapids. He walked just eight batters and struck out 30 in 42.1 innings, but allowed 26 runs (25 earned) on 55 hits, including ten home runs.

Tootle went 0-1, 7.64 in 13 relief appearances for the Beloit Snappers in 2010. He struck out 14 batters in 17.2 innings, but walked 12. He allowed 17 runs (15 earned) on 22 hits, including one home run.

Tootle impressed in his brief 2009 campaign after being drafted by the Twins in June. The highest Ripken, Sr. League alum to be drafted in ’09, Tootle did not allow a run in 6.1 relief innings for the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. He scattered four hits and two walks, and struck out one batter in his final appearance of the season on August 5.