TRENTON, N.J. - The Double-A Eastern League playoffs are underway and former Bradley star Dan Brewer has been in the middle of the action through the first two games. The right fielder for the New York Yankees affiliate Trenton Thunder, Brewer is 3-for-7 with a home run and two runs batted in thus far as Trenton split its first two games at Altoona.
The best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series resumes tonight at Trenton's Waterfront Park.
In Tuesday's playoff opener, a 3-2 Trenton victory, Brewer was 1-for-3 with a two-out, RBI single in the third inning and he added a sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning. Brewer's contributions were in support of New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, who made a rehab start for Trenton as he continues to recover from a groin strain.
Brewer added a 2-for-4 performance in Thursday's 6-4 loss. After singling and stealing second in the first inning, Brewer walked in the fifth inning and belted a leadoff homer in the eighth.
In 136 regular-season games, Brewer hit .270 and ranked among the Eastern League's top 10 in stolen bases (sixth, 29); RBI's (eighth, 84); doubles (eighth, 34); and runs scored (eighth, 83).
Brewer was one of six former Braves playing in the minor leagues during the 2010 season. He was joined at the Double-A level by former Bradley teammates Ryan Curry and Ryan Eigsti. A second baseman for the Jackson Suns, the Florida Marlins affiliate in the Southern League, Curry hit .251 in 118 games with 21 doubles. A catcher in the Kansas City Royals system, Eigsti missed the majority of the 2010 season for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals after being hit by a pitch and fracturing a forearm in the third game of the year. He wound up playing a total of 21 games and hit .214.
Right-handed pitcher Patrick Cooper, who was selected in the 14th round of June's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft after his first year with the Braves, finished his abbreviated rookie season with a 4-2 record, a 5.05 earned run average and 50 strikeouts in 62.1 innings. After going 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA in five appearances in the rookie New York-Penn League, Cooper was promoted to the West Michigan Whitecaps in the Single A Midwest League, where he also went 2-1 in eight starts.
Second-year pro Rob Scahill helped the Modesto Nuts, the Class A Advanced league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, reach the California League playoffs, but his team was swept out of the divisional round in three games by San Jose before the former Brave could take the mound. Scahill finished the season with a 10-7 record and a 4.73 ERA in 27 starts, including a 7-3 mark with a 3.41 ERA in his 14 starts after the all-star break. Scahill ranked fourth in the California League with 140 strikeouts in his 156.0 innings and he tied for fifth with 10 wins.
Signed by the Tampa Bay Rays midway through the 2010 season, veteran pitcher Brian Shouse worked his way up the farm system, but ended the year at Triple A Durham. In 23 relief appearances between three minor league levels, Shouse was 0-3 with three saves and a 4.15 ERA.
