Each week in the Alumni Notebook, we will take a look back at the previous weekend’s action from around the game of baseball. This week, we take a look across all baseball levels and bring you the latest on Baseball Factory alumni who are helping their teams with outstanding play. Steve Bernhardt, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Factory provides information on the Factory alumni.

Minor League Baseball

LaMonte Wade

LaMonte Wade – The Baltimore, MD native who attended St. Paul’s School and later starred at the University of Maryland is off to a tremendous start at Single-A Cedar Rapids in the Minnesota Twins organization.

Wade, the Twins’ ninth round selection in the 2015 Draft, hit .312 in 64 games at Rookie League Elizabethton last season before making the jump to Single-A ball this year, already has eight extra-base hits in 13 games for the Kernels in the Midwest League. Overall, the outfielder, who we saw at an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Baltimore in 2011, has played both left and center this season and is hitting .375 with six doubles, two triples, nine runs batted in and has stolen two bases. He also sits inside the Top 10 in both slugging percentage and OPS in the Midwest League, slashing a .583/1.014 line respectively.

Ke’Bryan Hayes

Ke’Bryan Hayes – Selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ as the 32nd overall pick in last year’s Draft and the son of former major leaguer, Charlie Hayes, Ke’Bryan was promoted to the South Atlantic League this year and is off to a hot start with Single-A West Virginia Power.

The 6’1″, 210 pound from Tomball, TX has settled in defensively at third base and is hitting .400 with five doubles – hitting his first professional home run on April 18th against the Kannapolis Intimidators – and 10 RBI in his first 11 games.

Hayes was a big-time prospect already when Baseball Factory scouts saw him for the first time at the 2012 Team One Futures Series Texas showcase and continued to show pro abilities in all of his baseball tools by the time he came to Mesa, AZ for the 2014 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament, grading out with high marks defensively with his footwork and plus range.

Yency Almonte

Yency Almonte – Yency was a 2011 Under Armour All-American where he flashed a low-90s fastball, a good breaking ball with 11-5 shape and a changeup he mixed in at 78 for a useable three-pitch mix.

Formerly selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 17th round of the 2012 Draft, Almonte was traded to the Chicago White Sox in February 2015 as a player to be named later in the Gordon Beckham trade. He went 11-7 overall between Single and High-A ball for the White Sox in 2015, striking out 110 batters in 137 1/3 innings, but was shipped off again in a trade, this time to the Colorado Rockies for Tommy Kahnle.

This season, Almonte is off to a big start for High-A Modesto in the California League. He’s picked up a win in his first two starts, pitching to an 0.87 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings pitched.

Grant Holmes

Grant Holmes – Holmes was a first round selection for the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Conway High School in Conway, SC in 2014. We saw Grant at the 2012 Team One Futures Series East with undeniable talent and pro abilities on the mound. He was also a 2013 Under Armour All-American where he was one of four pitches to top 95 mph during the game.

So far in 2016 with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, Holmes has won his last two starts after a no-decision in his first start. In 16.0 innings pitched so far, he’s allowed just three earned runs (1.69 ERA) and has fanned 18.

College

Greg Guers

Greg Guers – The senior outfielder from Langhorne, PA is third on the team in hitting (.315) and tops with homers (3) and RBI (27). Last week Guers became the third Nittany Lion to be named Big Ten Player of the Week after going 13-for-17, with two doubles, one homer, eight RBI, and five stolen bases. He picked up three consecutive, three-hit games against Northwestern.

The 2011 graduate from Germantown Academy in Langhorne attended two Under Armour College PREP events in Trenton, NJ in July and August of 2010.

Cole Rutherford, Cornell and Billy Arendt, Princeton – Co-Ivy League Players of the Week

Cornell junior first baseman Cole Rutherford shared the honor of Co-Ivy Player of the Week after going 11-for-18, with four runs scored and six RBI during the week. How good was his week? He tallied multiple hit-games in each of the team’s four games against Columbia. Rutherford now leads the team in homers after hitting his fifth of the season on Saturday. On Sunday, he was a perfect 7-for-7 from the plate with three run-scoring doubles and a walk, helping to lead the Big Red in taking three out of four from Columbia.

Billy Arendt

Our second Factory alum to be named the Co-Ivy Player of the Week is Princeton senior infielder Billy Arendt. The third baseman, who we saw at an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in his hometown of Houston, TX in 2010, also attended the 2010 and 2011 Team One South events and showed as a projectable middle infielder with pop and solid defensive skills that would lend well to the next level. Arendt’s play is in line with that after posting a .700 batting average over the weekend. In the team’s first game against Penn, Arendt socked a three-run homer for the Tigers in the 7-2 victory. He reached base all four times in the team’s 3-1 victory in game two and at one point went 10 consecutive plate appearances getting on base.

Jeremy Martinez

Jeremy Martinez – The 2011 Under Armour All-American from Fountain Valley, CA was a 2013 graduate from Mater Dei who moved onto USC and made 59 starts last season for the Trojans at first base, is now the team’s starting catcher. He went 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in win over Long Beach State on Tuesday night. He’s now hitting .348 on the year with nine doubles, four homers and 27 RBI and has thrown out 14 potential base stealers.

High School

Blake Rutherford

Blake Rutherford – Blake is the younger brother of Cole Rutherford, and is a potential top 10 MLB Draft pick. Rutherford is from Simi Valley, CA and is a UCLA commit and has attended Under Armour Southwest Championship event and Futures Series Texas events in 2013. In 2014, he again attended the Southwest Championships and the 2014 and 2015 Under Armour So Cal Classic who showed as a prospect to watch with major league tools. So far during his senior season, the left-handed swinging OF from Chaminade College Prep is hitting .509 with eight doubles, one triple and two homers.

Patch Dooley

Patch Dooley – Dooley is a junior at Half Hollow Hills East High School and recently had an outstanding performance on the mound, allowing just one hit and striking out 20 batters in a complete-game, 9-0 victory over Riverhead. Firmly entrenched as one of the top pitchers in the 2017 class, he’s helped to lead Hills East to a current record of 7-4.

We first saw Patch at a March 2015 Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Brentwood, NY and later as a participant in the July 2015 Under Armour Baseball Factory National East event and the 2016 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament where he struck out seven in his outing.

Grant Gambrell

Grant Gambrell – The Oregon State University commit tossed a complete-game shutout and struck out eight and went 2-for-4 with a home run in an 8-0 win for the Buchanan Bears over Central (Fresno). This season, he is 8-0 with an 0.70 ERA and three complete games.

The senior is ranked #69 on Baseball Factory’s Top 100 Prospects list and is a strong, physical RHP with an athletic delivery and a heavy, low-90s fastball. We first saw Grant in September 2014 Futures West event where he was rated as one of top 2016 pitchers to watch.