by Ben Catley

Charles Brewer is going to get the chance to play that role of “I’m Major League Worthy” in a different location now. He’s gone from his days as a member of the Missoula Osprey in 2009, to getting a chance in South Bend and Visalia in 2010, and pitching in Mobile both in 2011, and at the start of the 2012 season. But now, Brewer has another stop – at Triple-A Reno – to show that he is ready for the ultimate stage.

The promotion was among a series of moves made by the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, and included another former Osprey, who was here a shorter amount of time than nearly any other former Osprey this side of Daniel Taylor.

Whether or not any of these moves will be long-term is anyone’s guess – reliever Jonathan Albaladejo was promoted to Arizona as part of the moves – but Brewer will now get tested in what is regarded as a hitter’s league.

Brewer was 0-1 in three starts for the Double-A Mobile BayBears, with a 4.15 ERA before getting the call-up to start against Sacramento on Sunday. In five innings of work, Brewer allowed 10 hits and six runs (five earned), including three home runs, in a 12-4 loss to the River Cats.

Another former Osprey pitcher was also called up to fill a need – Alex Capaul (2011), who gave up five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks in relief of Brewer on Sunday. Capaul was called up from Extended Spring Training to provide some relief for the Aces’ bullpen. Capaul made one appearance for the Osprey, and was with the team for barely a week before being sent to Yakima, where he was eventually converted into a starting pitcher.

We’ll have more on the Reno bunch in the Osprey Alumni Minor League Update. On to other things at the moment …

– Former Osprey pitcher Jarrod Parker (2007) was lifted after  just 2 2/3 innings in his start for Sacramento against Reno on Saturday night, with the lone hit he surrendered coming off of former teammate Taylor Harbin (2007). Why that short of an outing? Because he’s starting on Wednesday … in Oakland.

– Ender Inciarte (2009) was named the Midwest League Player of the Week earlier today.

– Former Osprey outfielder Gerardo Parra (2006) hit his first career grand slam in a 6-4 D-backs win on Sunday that snapped a five-game slide. Parra actually had a hand in five of the six Arizona runs. And the four-run four-bagger landed in the pool area at Chase Field.

Osprey Alumni Minor League Update:
Triple-A Reno (5-13): Jake Elmore (2008) is the current team leader in batting, hitting at a .327 clip. The other two former Osprey position players are doing pretty good for themselves as of late – Taylor Harbin (2007) has a hit in each of his last two games, as he tries to snap out of his current funk at the plate, while Adam Eaton (2010) is batting .273 in his first five games played for the Aces. On the mound, it has been a struggle for Tom Layne (2007), who is  0-2 with a 7.71 ERA on the young season.

Double-A Mobile (10-8): With David Nick (2009) still on the DL, and Eaton in Triple-A, Rossmel Perez (2008) and Kyle Greene (2008) are left as former Osprey to boost the BayBears offense. Perez is hitting .250, while Greene is starting to find a bit of a rythym at the plate, hitting .242 at the moment, and .308 in the past 10 games. On the mound, Chase Anderson (2009) makes his second start of the season tonight, while 2010 alumnus Derek Eitel (0-2, 5.06) heads out tomorrow night. Four former Osprey are holding it down in the bullpen – Bryan Henry (0-1, save, 4.32) pitched in Missoula in 2007 along with Yonata Ortega (0-0, 3.38), while Taylor Sinclair (0-0, 2.00) pitched for Missoula in 2008, and Eury De La Rosa (2-0, 0.00) was a teammate of both Anderson and Brewer in 2009.

Class A Advanced Visalia (7-10): As of the blog entry, the Rawhide were leading Modesto, 4-1, in the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Chafin (2011) was again being stellar on the mound, pitching five innings of two-hit, six-strikeout ball. Chafin entered the game with a 2-0 mark and 1.76 ERA, and now ha 33 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings pitched. Other former Osprey are also doing their thing, too … David Holmberg (2010) is 1-3 at the moment, with a 3.09 ERA, but has 27 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings pitched, and has a WHIP of 1.07. Raymond Hernandez (2011) is still proving to be a pleasant surprise, going 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA, fanning 11 batters in 10 innings pitched while allowing 0.80 baserunners per nine innings pitched. Eric Smith (2009) is having a nice bounce-back season in his first full season in the bullpen, collecting two saves and a 2.89 ERA in the process. At the plate, Raywilly Gomez (2009) is hitting at a team-leading .348 clip, good enough for 9th in the California League, while Chris Owings (2009) has a good April working in his own right at the plate – .329 average, three home runs, nine RBIs, and just two errors in the field.

Class A South Bend (9-8): Good news for the SilverHawks at the plate … they have a home run! Make that two – and one of them came off the bat of Bobby Stone (2008-10). The Mayor took his first 360-foot trot of the year on Saturday against Beloit, a solo shot. Stone now leads the team with nine RBIs. Tom Belza (2011) leads the team in hitting (.347), plus has four extra-base hits and four steals to go along with eight RBIs. And Chris Ellison (2011) has picked it up a bit, now hitting .281 after a slow start. Ellie, who is third on the squad in hitting behind Belza and Inciarte, is hitting .350 in his last 10 games. On the bump, while Jeff Shields (2010) and Archie Bradley (2011) continue to shine in the starting rotation, Seth Simmons (2011) hasn’t allowed an earned run in 10 2/3 innings of work out of the bullpen, posting a 1.03 WHIP and collecting 10 strikeouts along the way.