Effingham Area Players Aiming for Major Leagues

The Effingham area is a hotbed for pitchers as evidenced by eight local graduates in the minor leagues aiming for the pitching mounds of Major League Baseball stadiums.

Effingham High School graduates Chad Green and Nick Gardewine, along with Effingham St. Anthony graduate Daniel Winkler, Teutopolis graduate Derek Thompson, Stewardson-Strasburg graduate Phil Wetherell, Altamont graduate Derek Hankins, South Central graduate Spencer Patton and Newton graduate Ross Wolf are all throwing baseballs from mounds around the U.S. and Korea.

CHAD GREEN -- Competes for the West Michigan Whitecaps in the Class A Midwest League. The parent club is Detroit. Green is a 6-foot-3 righthander. He currently has a 2-2 record with a 3.33 ERA. He's pitched 81 innings, allowing 17 walks and striking out 73.

NICK GARDEWINE -- Competes for the Spokane Indians in the Class A short season Northwest League. The parent club is Texas. The 6-foot-1 righthander has a perfect 4-0 record with a 3.43 ERA. He's thrown 21 innings only walking four and striking out 15.

DANNY WINKLER -- Is currently on the disabled list for the Double A Texas League Tulsa Drillers. The parent club is Colorado. Winkler was injured in a June 7 game against the Springfield Cardinals. He tore his ulnor collateral ligament and was to undergo Tommy John surgery. He will be out for at least a year. Up to that point the righthander was having a great season for Tulsa with a 5-2 record and a 1.41 ERA. He had thrown 70 innings allowing only 17 walks and striking out 71.

PHIL WETHERELL -- Competes for the Trenton Thunder in the Double A Eastern League. The parent club is the New York Yankees. He has a 1-3 record with an 0.39 ERA. The 6-foot-5 righthander has thrown 23.1 innings, allowing nine walks and striking out 21.

DEREK THOMPSON -- Competes for the Spokane Indians in the Class A shortseason Northwest League. The parent club is Texas. Thompson has a 1-2 record with a 3.60 ERA. The 6-foot-4 lefthander has gone 15 innings, allowing three walks and striking out 11.

DEREK HANKINS -- Competes for the Toledo Mud Hens in the Triple A International League. The parent club is Detroit. Hankins has a 3-9 record with a 6.45 ERA. Hankins is a 6-foot-4 righthander and has gone a total of 82.1 innings, allowing 22 walks and striking out 41.

SPENCER PATTON -- Competes for the Omaha Storm Chasers in the Triple A Pacific Coast League. The parent club is Kansas City. The 6-foot-1 righthander has a 4-3 record with a 3.92 ERA. He's thrown 39 innings allowing 19 walks and striking out 47.

ROSS WOLF -- Has played for the Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers. He recently exercised an out in his minor league contract and will continue to pursue his career with SK Wyverns in the Korean Baseball Organization. Last Friday he pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, three walks and four strikeouts. The score was tied when he left the game but SK Wyverns scored in the ninth to win 5-4. His current record is 1-1 with a 4.73 ERA. The team he plays for is based in Incheon, Korea.