From Auburn to zany with Hlebovy in-between

While the Mahoning Valley Scrappers are being educated on the challenges of professional baseball, it seems appropriate and timely for us to be educated on the ABCs of minor league baseball.
Let's begin.
* Auburn Doubledays. Ah yes, the Doubledays are at it again in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League. Going into Saturday, Auburn led the division by seven games, with a 16-3 record. Last year's division champs have fared well against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers this season, winning the last seven games for a 7-2 mark.
* Butia, Mike. The Indians' highest draft pick, a fifth-rounder from James Madison University, at Mahoning Valley. The outfielder is batting .325, second only to catcher Wyatt Toregas (.333).
* Cevette, Dan. Third-year professional from Elkland, Pa., who's off to a hot start with Mahoning Valley. The left-handed pitcher was 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA spanning 21 innings. He had 23 strikeouts and four walks.
* Denham, pitcher Dan and outfielder Jason. Brother combination in the Indians organization.
* Edmonton Trappers, Triple-A club of the Montreal Expos for whom former Scrappers outfielder Ryan Church plays. Church was batting .347 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs for Edmonton.
* Former Scrapper Ryan Goleski has opened some eyes at Class-A Lake County, where he's hit a team-high 19 home runs (nine is the second-most) and 63 RBIs.
* Gorilla. Whereas Scrappy is the Scrappers' mascot catering mostly to kids, the gorilla dressed in Scrappers attire that you see running around Eastwood Field is themed for adults. He's been given free reign to go "nuts" at games.
* Hlebovy, Gus. Campbell Memorial High graduate who was in town last week as a closer with the Vermont Expos. Hlebovy has appeared in 11 games this season, recording a league-high five saves and a 4.38 ERA.
* Indians, Burlington. Tribe's rookie league affiliate of the Appalachian League. Was 7-11 going into the weekend.
* Jeremy Sowers. Left-hander from Vanderbilt whom the Tribe picked first in the draft. As of last week, Cleveland had yet to agree on a contract with him.
* Kinston Indians. Tribe Class-A affiliate that won the Carolina League Southern Division's first half. Started 4-8 in the second half.
* Lake County Captains. Tribe's Class-A affiliate that stands at 43-41 overall in the South Atlantic League, 7-7 in the second half.
* Mallary Maus. A 17-year-old scheduled to throw out the first pitch at today's Scrappers game. Maus is in need of a pancreas transplant, and she's trying to raise public awareness of the condition.
* Niesel, Chris. Scrappers pitcher from Notre Dame and someone else to keep your eye on. In 81/3 innings, he's allowed one run on one hit (1.08 ERA), with 11 strikeouts and one walk.
* Other Tribe affiliates, Double-A Akron Aeros (39-47) of the Eastern League and Triple-A Buffalo Bisons (48-39) of the International League.
* Petty, Chad. Southington High graduate pitching for the Palm Beach Cardinals, Class A full-season affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 12 games and 222/3 innings, Petty is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA.
* Quakes (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and Quad Cities (Iowa) are the only two minor league teams that begin with this letter.
* Ryan Pritt. The young public address announcer of the Scrappers in his second year. He's a Suffield native and a recent graduate of Mogadore Field High.
* Silent game. Last week, the independent Brockton (Mass.) Rox held a Silent Night promotion in which the first five innings were played with reduced noise from the crowd.
* Two. The number of big-league pitchers (Brian Tallet and Mike Porzio) with the Scrappers so far this season.
* Uegawachi, Bryce. Scrappers infielder from 2001-02. Although he's out of the organization, he remains on our all-name team.
* Vito Chiaravalloti. Last year's New York-Penn League triple crown champion with the Auburn Doubledays. This year, the infielder is playing for the Class A full-season Dunedin Blue Jays, batting .288 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs.
* Walker, Aaron. East Palestine High graduate who pitches for the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn League. Walker has not allowed an earned run in four innings. Hudson Valley will visit the Scrappers on July 20-22.
* Xavier. Four players with this first name in minor league baseball. (Pause.) Let's continue.
* Your next original Scrapper-turned-major league player could be (if not Church), first baseman Eric Crozier. The Columbus native is ever so close to taking that next step. He's batting .296 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs at Buffalo.
* Zany. The minor league baseball experience.
richesson@vindy.com