By Josh Fathollahi
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The California Winter League is proud to announce that two of its former players will be starting the 2016 season at Triple-A.
Vinny DiFazio – who was named 2015 American Association MVP while playing for the St. Paul Saints – was picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers this spring training and earned a spot with the team’ Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Dodgers. He will start the year on the 7-day disabled list, but we wish him the best of luck once he returns to the field.
Cole Brocker will also be making his Triple-A debut in 2016 after being acquired by the Chicago Cubs organization this offseason. He earned a major league job out of the CWL and struck out 36 batters in 33.1 innings across three different minor league levels in 2014 and 2015. With his hard-throwing style, Brocker projects to be a reliever and could find himself called up to the majors if the Cubs’ current relievers struggle or go down to injury.
Other CWL alumni joining DiFazio and Brocker in the minors are P Michael Schaub (Staten Island Yankees) and OF Nick Schulz (Lake Elsinore Storm).
Taking a look at this past CWL season, we had P Evan Crower join the Philadelphia Phillies organization as well as P Kevin Lenik being picked up by the Texas Rangers and starting the 2016 season with the Hickory Crawdads.
You can view a full list of 2016 CWL professional contract signings here.
Follow the California Winter League on Twitter @CalWinterLeague.
