NOTEBOOK

Doubledays waiting for more talent

Guy Cipriano

UNIVERSITY PARK — Auburn hangs photos of past championship teams in its Falcon Park clubhouse.

CDT photo/Craig Houtz

Pittsburgh third-round draft pick Evan Chambers went 0-for-1 with a sacrifice fly in his professional debut on Thursday.

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The Doubledays once again hold high aspirations this summer, although they could be taking a different route to contending for a Pinckney Division title.

A partial change in the Toronto Blue Jays’ draft philosophy has left veteran manager Dennis Holmberg waiting for some high draft picks.

The Blue Jays used three of their first five picks on high school players after selecting Kennesaw State right-hander Chad Jenkins and Kentucky left-hander James Paxton, 20th and 37th overall, respectively. Jenkins and Paxton have yet to agree terms, leaving seventh- rounder Egan Smith, a lefthander from the Community College of Southern Nevada, as the highest 2009 selection on Auburn’s roster.

The Doubledays are also waiting on Toronto’s fourth-and fifth-round picks — Dallas Baptist shortstop Ryan Goins and LSU second baseman Ryan Schimpf. The Blue Jays picked three high school players between selecting Paxton and Goins.

The Blue Jays’ penchant for plucking college players in early rounds helped the Doubledays win six straight Pinckney Division titles from 2002-07 under Holmberg. Auburn arrived in State College with 12 2009 picks on their roster. Only five were selected in the first top 20 rounds.

“I know the situation,” Holmberg said before Thursday’s game against the State College Spikes.

“They are looking to enhance their bonuses and it gets tougher and tougher with agents. Sometimes the first and second guy is always looking to see what the other first-or second-round does and what other guys do. It’s kind of like a feeling out. Is it tough? Yeah.”

Until help arrives, the Doubledays are trying to stay around .500. The entered the middle game of their three-game series here 5-7, trailing division leaders Mahoning Valley and Williamsport by 21/ 2 games entering Thursday.

The Doubledays are also battling injuries. Outfielder Markus Brisker, a sixth-round pick last year from Winter Haven (Fla.) High School, will not return to the lineup until this weekend because of an oblique strain while third baseman Randy Schwartz, who hit four homers in 10 games, will miss four to six weeks with a leg injury.

The presence of some veterans should help Auburn. Outfielder and leadoff hitter Chris Hopkins and starting pitchers Evan Crawford and Matt Wright, who attended District 4 Midd-West High School and Shippensburg University, spent last summer in Auburn. The Blue Jays also sent the Doubledays’ 6-foot-7 pitcher Chris Wells and outfielder Eric Eiland from full-season Lansing.

Eiland, a second-round pick, was part of a 2007 draft class that included current major-league pitcher Brett Cecil, Triple-A catcher J.P. Arencibia and high school standouts Kevin Ahrens, Justin Jackson and John Tolisano. Cecil and Arencibia helped Auburn capture the 2007 New York-Penn League title. The selections of Eiland, Ahrens, Jackson and Tolisano illustrated part of the Blue Jays’ changing draft philosophy.

Chambers in lineup

Evan Chambers, a third-round pick from Hillsborough (Fla.) Community College, batted third and started in center field for the Spikes Thursday. Chambers is the highest drafted position player on the current roster.

His arrival coincides with Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/ baserunning coordinator Kimera Bartee’s stop in State College. Bartee appeared in 243 major-league games with Detroit, Cincinnati and Colorado. Bartee is the first coordinator to visit Medlar Field at Lubrano Park since last month’s minicamp.

Pirates mental skills coach Geoff Miller is also visiting the team.

Quick start

Former Philipsburg-Osceola star Matt Adams is making a convincing case for a promotion to the NY-PL.

Adams, the St. Louis Cardinals’ 23rd-round pick, entered Thursday hitting .448 with three homers and seven RBIs in seven games for the Johnson City Cardinals of the rookie Appalachian League. The Cardinals drafted Adams as a catcher, but he has started his professional career at first base.

Batavia, which visits State College next week, is St. Louis’ NY-PL affiliate.