The Nuthouse

The Wingnuts made some roster moves on Tuesday, shaking up the pitching staff by releasing Ronnie Ball and Demetri White. To replace them, Wichita signed Adam White and Kevin Cheppenko.

I don’t know much about A. White, but I believe he just finished up his college career in Texas. He’s a big right-hander; 6-6 or so. Cheppenko was released by Sioux Falls about a week ago and is in his fifth year in pro ball, all with independent teams. His best year was 2004, when he went 10-4 with Yuma of the Golden League.

I’m pretty surprised the Wingnuts let both of these guys go. Richard Salazar moves into the rotation to replace Ball as the No. 5 starter. Conceivably, Wichita could have slid Ball back to his original role as the long reliever — a role in which he dominated early in the season. D. White, who assumed Ball’s spot as long reliever after struggling in the rotation, could have been tried as a one-inning or matchup left-hander.

The thing that killed Ball and White is too many walks. In fact, they’re Nos. 1 and 2 in the American Association in walks and I guess the Wingnuts figured there’s nothing left they can do to help the young pitchers. Now the only hope is they don’t find their way to another AA team and come back to shove it against Wichita. These guys both have good arms and solid potential, so they’ll probably be heard from again.