An Update on the 2010 Eugene Emeralds
The 2010 season for the Eugene Emeralds was one of ups and downs. The team was managed by Greg Riddoch and went 32-44 over the course of their short-season single A campaign.
From the 46 players that made up the roster two have already played at the major league level and several others are still with the Padres or other organizations at higher levels of minor league play.
From the 2010 team, infielder Jedd Gyorko and pitcher Josh Spence were the two to pitch in the big leagues for the Padres.
Jedd Gyorko:
During his stint in Eugene, Gyorko batted .330 with 5 homeruns and 18 RBI's. After his season in Eugene, Gyorko systematically worked his way through the Padres farm system and after a successful 2012 campaign in Triple A Tucson, was invited to spring training with the Padres in 2013.
After a slew of injuries Gyorko made his Major League debut on opening day 2013 at second base for the Padres. Gyorko has played a vast majority of the games for the professional club this year and currently has appeared in 24 games and is batting .236. However, while his average may not be overly impressive, the Padres knew that Gyorko was in need of some time to mature offensively and that his real value was on the defensive end. In this area Gyorko has lived up to the billing and in his 24 games splitting time behind second and third base he has only amassed two errors.
Josh Spence:
The other player to make it the big leagues from the 2010 squad was pitcher Josh Spence. Spence only appeared in two games for the Ems but during this brief stint he sported a 1.50 ERA.
Following his departure from Eugene, Spence spent time in Fort Wayne and San Antonio before he was called up to the big leagues on June 21, 2011. He made his Major League debut several days later on June 25, 2011.
In 2011 Spence appeared in 40 games with a 2.73 ERA. After his formidable effort in 2011, 2012 was not as impressive. He only appeared in 11 games during the 2012 season and was then designated for assignment following the completion of the year.
He is currently in the Yankees system in AAA Scranton.
While the 2010 Emeralds currently have only two players that have seen time at the major league level, there are 8 players who have sufficiently progressed in the minor league system.
Rocky Gale:
Drafted in the 24th round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft out of Portland State, the Portland native batted .292 in his 43 games in an Ems uniform. Following his departure from Eugene, Gale ascended through the minor league system and finished the 2011 season in AAA Tucson where he batted .250. Over the next two seasons, Gale made stops on a myriad of teams ranging from AA to AAA but now finds himself back in Tucson playing for the AAA affiliate.
Through just seven games this season, Gale is batting .143 with a .286 on base percentage.
Rymer Liriano:
A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Liriano was signed by the Padres as a 17 year old in 2008.
After stops in the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona League, Liriano arrived in Eugene in 2010.
During his 53 games for the Emeralds, Liriano batted .271 with 55 hits and 17 stolen bases. Over the next two years Liriano split his time between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne but ended his season in AA San Antonio where he appeared in 53 games batting .251.
Rico Noel:
Drafted out of Coastal Carolina University in the 5th round of the MLB Amateur Draft by the San Diego Padres in 2010, Rico Noel arrived in Eugene in the summer of 2010.
Noel appeared in 32 games for the Emeralds and in those games he batted .277 with a .426 on base percentage. Following the completion of the short season single A season, Noel spent the majority of the next two seasons in Fort Wayne where his best effort came in 2011 where he batted .253 in the Midwest League.
He then was sent to Lake Elsinore and is currently in AA San Antonio where through 25 games he is batting .196.