PORT ALLEGANY – Brian Stavisky will soon depart for Phoenix,
Ariz., as he prepares for the next leg of his professional baseball
journey.
After spring training, Stavisky, 25, may return to the Midland
(Texas) RockHounds, Class AA affiliate of major league baseball’s
Oakland Athletics. Or, he could find himself on the doorstep of the
big-league squad as a member of the Class AAA Sacramento
Rivercats.
Stavisky has been back in Port Allegany since he put the
finishing touches on a successful 2005 season by helping the
RockHounds win their first Texas League championship in 30
years.
A leftfielder and designated hitter, Stavisky was a complete
player for the RockHounds, said his manager, former major leaguer
Von Hayes.
“Brian is an outstanding young man who is blessed with great
baseball talent,” Hayes said. “There’s no telling how far his
talent and his great attitude could take him, but I’m pretty sure
he’s not stopping at Double A.”
Stavisky, a solid six-foot-three, 230-pound lefthanded hitter,
batted .316 last season and was one of the Texas League’s top 10
performers in eight offensive categories. He clubbed 11 home runs,
36 doubles and six triples, while driving in 88 runs. Stavisky
showed a good eye at the plate, drawing a team-high 69 walks while
batting second, fourth and fifth.
He also showed that he can hold his own defensively. Stavisky
says he would prefer to play the outfield, as opposed to being used
strictly as a designated hitter, but if the latter is a faster
track to the majors, then he would welcome the chance.
A Notre Dame alum, Stavisky was coming off an outstanding 2004
season with Modesto, a Class A affiliate of the Athletics. He was
the California League MVP with a league-best .343 batting average,
19 home runs, 83 RBIs and a 108 runs scored.
With the signing of veteran players such as designated hitter
Frank Thomas and outfielder Milton Bradley, the Athletics’ may not
be in a position to go with a youth movement in 2006.
However, as Stavisky continues to tear up minor league pitching,
it’s going to be harder and harder for the A’s to keep him down on
the farm.
