EL notes: Cats' Fields has total package

Working at a post office two years ago before signing as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays, Roemon Fields knows something about overnight deliveries.

Such has been the case with his career where the outfielder became a bit of an overnight success a year ago with short-season Vancouver and has since carried that over to his first full season, speeding his way through Class A Advanced Dunedin before landing at Double-A New Hampshire a month ago.

"When he got here, it was a pleasant surprise," said Fisher Cats manager Bobby Meacham, who was short on outfield help before Fields arrived. "He's a great kid, works his tail off, really good aptitude. The learning curve is great. He learns quick, and every day you see him learning something new, and he's applying it in the games and it's showing with the success that he's had."

Since landing in Manchester, Fields has been at his best, hitting .351 in 22 games and setting the table at the top of the Fisher Cats lineup.

He has hit safely in 18 of those 22 games, and the team has gone 13-9 with his bat in the lineup, keeping them in the playoff hunt.

Fields has also been able to show off his fast feet at the new level, with his manager encouraging him to flaunt it at every opportunity.

"What I've been encouraging him to do, and he's doing it, is never hide that tool," said Meacham. "Every time you hit a ball, you're running full speed. Every time you're running down a ball in the gap, make it look easy by getting there. You want to highlight your strengths so everybody can know just how good you are. Sometimes guys have a tendency to glide out there, but he won't do that. He's showcasing his speed and it's all it's been built up to be."

"He lets me play my game," Fields said of Meacham. "I'm getting comfortable and I'm ready to steal when situations are there. I used to just get on and steal first pitch. I'm starting to understand the game a little more, knowing when to steal. It doesn't mean I can't do that, but just learning baseball as well."

It's another one of those learning opportunities for Fields, who has been successful in 7-of-10 stolen-base attempts for New Hampshire and in center field has 49 putouts and two assists without an error.

Fields is just enjoying it all and staying with what works best for him, while basking in larger crowds along the way.

Now he sits just two postal codes away from the ultimate destination.

"I haven't really thought about that," said Fields of being that close to the Majors after going undrafted out of West Virginia's Bethany College. "I'm just happy to be here. I never thought I'd be here. I'm just taking it all in. I don't worry about what's happening and what's going on, I'm just having fun out there."

In brief

The K planet: Austin Voth, the No. 11 prospect in the Nationals system, has averaged 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings, the most of any pitcher in the league with more than 100 innings pitched this year. The Harrisburg hurler also leads the league with 109 strikeouts in 116 1/3 innings and has retired his opponent on strikeouts 23 percent of the time.

Runners beware: Akron catcher Tony Wolters has thrown out 38-of-77 would-be base stealers this season for a league-best 49-percent caught-stealing rate. A catcher for only three years now, Wolters has managed to throw out 40 percent of the runners that have tested him, including a 47-percent rate a year ago. Wolters also possesses a .996 fielding percentage at the position in his career.

Not far to wander: On Trade Deadline day last Friday, pitcher Jimmy Cordero found himself in an unusual situation. Part of the trade that sent Ben Revere to Toronto, Cordero, who was with New Hampshire, was shipped to the Phillies. However, the Fisher Cats happened to be hosting the Reading Fightin' Phils at the time, so Cordero only needed to walk down the hall to his new clubhouse. He even pitched an inning against his old mates the following night, but had a tough go of things, allowing two hits and two runs.