After a week which saw NO debut players called up to the majors, the last few days of the past week brought a flurry of new activity with nine pitchers getting the call. Of that crew, eight had made their debuts by the end of Sunday’s action with only Yankees reliever Hector Noesi in waiting for this week.

But before we get to this week’s “debutantes,” I want to single out an appearance this weekend which, while not officially a debut, was certainly noteworthy — that of San Francisco Giants outfielder Darren Ford.

Ford, 25, has become something of a base-stealing legend during his minor league career, which dates back to 2005, when he signed as an 18th-round pick draft-and-follow pick from 2004 (remember those?) out of high school in Vineland, New Jersey, by the Milwaukee Brewers. He was traded to the Giants in 2008 for veteran second baseman Ray Durham.

He put together back-to-back-to-back 60-plus steal seasons in 2006 (69 at Class A West Virginia), 2007 (67 between West Virginia and Advanced-A Brevard County) and 2008 (62 between Brevard and Advanced A San Jose), and topped the 30-steal mark in both 2009 and 2010.

Ford made his big league debut on Sept. 1, 2010. With the eventual World Series champions in the midst of a pennant drive, he pinch-ran that night and scored the winning run in a key game against Colorado.

During his month up with the club, he would appear in seven games, scoring that lone run and stealing a pair of bases, but never actually stepped up to the plate.

After spending the first week of the 2011 minor league season at Triple-A Fresno, where he was hitting .323 with seven steals in seven games, Ford was recalled to San Francisco on April 15 when center fielder Andres Torres went on the DL. That night he got into his eighth Major League game but, once again, did not get to even pick up a bat, coming in as a late-inning defensive replacement in center field.

On April 16, though, Ford finally got his first big-league at-bat, in a 5-3 victory over Arizona. It might not have been the exact scenario he’d envisioned, though. Filling in as pinch-runner for Pat Burrell in the seventh inning, he was promptly picked off first and caught stealing. He stayed in the game in center and, with two outs in the eighth inning, finally got that first at-bat. He struck out swinging against reliever Juan Gutierrez to end the inning.

So now, onto the actual official debut count:

AL ALBURQUERQUE
RHP, Detroit Tigers
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-0/195 BORN: June 10, 1986
ACQUIRED: Signed as minor league free agent November 2010
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Toledo April 14 when P Robbie Weinhardt was sent down
DEBUT: April 15 in an 8-4 10-inning win against Oakland: The second of five pitchers, he allowed one hit in two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out three.
NOTES: Destined perhaps to be one of the most frequently-misspelled names in box scores and game stories (for those who finally learned how to spell the name of the New Mexico city, just add an “R” after the first “U”), some have already taken to calling him “Al Al.” Alburquerque’s name may have already been familiar to MiLB.com fans thanks to his presence in not one but two seasons of the immensely popular “Moniker Madness” competition (both times he lost out to similarly-alliterative opponents — Rocky Roquet in the 2008 Sweet 16 and Bubbie Buzachero in a second-round upset in 2010). Oh. Baseball? The Dominican-born hurler was originally signed by the Chicago Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2003 before being traded to the Colorado Rockies in July 2009 for infielder Jeff Baker. He signed this past off-season with the Tigers. He’s pitched somewhat sparingly during an injury-plagued career, with just 114 games under his belt coming into 2011, missing most of 2005 and 2008 with the Cubs and much of 2010 as well. During that span, though, when healthy he posted a 3.96 ERA. He comes armed with a blazing fastball which he can’t always control (a fact which has been one of the keys in it taking until now for him to come up.) During spring training with the Tigers, he posted a 6.14 ERA but also fanned 13 in 7 1/3 innings. In his brief Toledo stint before his promotion, he had tossed four shutout innings in three games, striking out eight. Not a bad K-IP ratio. If he’s finally starting to harness his control he could be an interesting arm out of the pen.



TYLER CHATWOOD
RHP, Los Angeles Angels
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-0/185 BORN: Dec. 16, 1989
ACQUIRED: Selected in the second round of 2008 out of high school in Redlands, Cal.
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Salt Lake April 10 when pitchers Michael Kohn and Kevin Jepsen were sent down.
DEBUT: April 11 in a 4-0 loss to Cleveland: The starting pitcher, he took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in five innings, walking four and striking out three. He also gave up two homers to Asdrubal Cabrera and Matt LaPorta.
NOTES: The Angels’ top pick in the 2008 draft after they lost their first-round pick as compensation for signing OF Torii Hunter, Chatwood breezed through three levels in 2010, going 8-3 with a 1.77 ERA at Advanced A Rancho Cucamonga and then posting a 3.82 ERA in 12 starts at Double-A Arkansas before one final start at Salt Lake. In his three pro seasons coming into 2011, he’d compiled a 3.31 ERA. He started this year back with the Bees but was pulled after just one inning in his first start April 9 in anticipation of his promotion. Rated as the system’s top pitching prospect and No. 2 prospect overall by Baseball America, he’s improved his control immensely since signing out of high school. He followed up his debut five days later by picking up his first victory, tossing seven innings of five-hit one-run ball in a 7-2 win against the White Sox on April 16, walking two and fanning three.

JOSH COLLMENTER
RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-4/235 BORN: Feb. 7, 1986
ACQUIRED: Selected in the 15th round of 2007 out of Central Michigan
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Reno April 15 when P Aaron Heilman went on the DL
DEBUT: April 17 in a 6-5 12-inning win against San Francisco: The last of six pitchers, he got the win with two perfect innings, striking out two.
NOTES: Until last year, Collmenter may have been better known for his facial hair than his pitching. Though by some standards the mustache he sported in 2008 might not have stopped traffic, for whatever reason it gained him his fair share of fame, as noted here in a feature written at the time by MLB.com’s always-hilarious Ben Hill (accompanying photo by Mike Janes for MiLB.com): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080722&content_id=435613&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp



But Collmenter showed he could pitch as well, earning spots on his respective leagues’ mid-season All-Star squads in 2009 (California League) and 2010 (Southern League). His rise in 2010 through three levels, including a 1.82 in 12 starts at Double-A Mobile, won him a 40-man roster spot (though ironically he also fell off of the Baseball America Top 30 prospect rankings for the Dbacks after 2010). In four pro seasons coming into 2011, Collmenter has limited opposing hitters to a .237 average. He opened the year at Reno by allowing one earned run on two hits in six innings against Salt Lake, striking out seven, before his callup.

ALAN JOHNSON
RHP, Colorado Rockies
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-1/180 BORN: Aug. 24, 1983
ACQUIRED: Signed by Rockies as non-drafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2005
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Colorado Springs April 14 when P Greg Reynolds was sent down.
DEBUT: April 17 in a 9-5 win against the Chicago Cubs: The starting pitcher, he did not get the decision, allowing five runs — four earned — on six hits in four innings, walking three and fanning three.
NOTES: With ace Ubaldo Jimenez on the DL but due to come back this week, and weather playing havoc with their early schedule to start with, the Rockies have been using a patchwork set of fill-in-the-gap starting pitchers which led to the somewhat surprising announcement that Johnson would take the hill for his Sunday debut. Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Mississippi State back in 2005, he’s been a solid workhorse for the organization but has never been viewed as a “prospect” per se. Now 27, with a nifty sinker for his out pitch, he’s posted a combined 4.57 ERA in six pro seasons but his ERA has not been below 5.00 in his last three summers, including 2009-2010 at Colorado Springs and 2008 at Double-A Tulsa. Still, manager Jim Tracy was optimistic and positive when talking to MLB.com about Johnson: “He’s a very, very competitive guy that will indoctrinate himself to exactly the philosophy that we’ve been working from since last year, getting after hitters and attacking hitters. He’s got an excellent sinker, and as a result of that, he can pitch off of that with a couple of breaking balls — his curveball and slider. I really think this kid is going to come out here and make a statement for himself, I really do. He’s a courageous enough guy. He will not back off, I know that for a fact.” Johnson may have wrapped up that starting assignment with a very impressive 2011 debut for the SkySox in which he tossed five shutout innings.

LANCE PENDLETON
RHP, New York Yankees
B/T: L/R H/W: 6-3/205 BORN: Sept. 10, 1983
ACQUIRED: Selected in the fourth round of 2005 out of Rice University
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre April 15 when P Phil Hughes went on the DL.
DEBUT: April 15 in a 5-3 loss to Texas: The last of four pitchers, he tossed three perfect innings, striking out two, including the first batter he faced, Elvis Andrus.
NOTES: It looked for a bit like the Houston native might get to make his big league debut in his home city, when the Astros took him from the Yankees in the 2010 Rule 5 Draft. But although Pendleton didn’t “stick” with the ‘stros and was offered back during spring training, here he is in the Majors, just two weeks after Opening Day. After his Rice stint, which included a spot on the 2003 College World Series championship team, he underwent Tommy John surgery which cost him his first full season, 2006, and most of 2007 as well. Without one dominant pitch, he still has a decent arsenal of four offerings and has posted a 3.39 combined ERA in a starting role when active. He made it up to Scranton in 2010 for six games but spent most of that summer at Double-A Trenton, where he was 10-4 with a 3.43 ERA. To start 2011, he posted a 1.59 ERA in two games, striking out five in 5 2/3 innings at Scranton.

LUIS PEREZ
LHP, Toronto Blue Jays
B/T: L/L H/W: 6-0/160 BORN: Jan. 20, 1985
ACQUIRED: Signed as a non-drafted free agent in July 2003 out of the Dominican Republic
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas April 15 when P Brad Mills was sent down.
DEBUT: April 16 in a 4-1 loss to Boston: The last of four pitchers, he allowed one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out two.
NOTES: Perez spent his first four pro seasons in short-season leagues, including 2004-2006 in the Dominican Summer League and 2007 at Auburn of the New York-Penn League before finally making his full-season debut at Class A Lansing in 2008. His career win-loss record does not reflect his 3.84 career ERA, though, as he went 5-12 with a 3.60 for the Lugnuts and then 9-11 with a 3.55 at Double-A New Hampshire in 2009. He split the 2010 campaign between New Hampshire (4.54) and Las Vegas (6.13) before opening ’11 back at Vegas where he allowed four runs in five innings in his lone start prior to his promotion. In Toronto, though, he’s working in relief in a temporary eight-man bullpen.

EDUARDO SANCHEZ
RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
B/T: R/R H/W: 5-11/155 BORN: Feb. 16, 1989
ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent in Dec. 2005 out of Venezuela
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Memphis April 13 when Ps Bryan Augenstein and Brian Tallet went on the DL.
DEBUT: April 13 in a 15-5 win against Arizona: The last of three pitchers, he struck out five in two innings of one-hit shutout ball.
NOTES: Ranked #7 on Baseball America’s Cards prospect list, Sanchez represented his home country on the World Team in the 2010 Futures Game. Primarily a reliever during his five pro seasons coming into this spring, he’s posted an impressive 3.19 ERA during that span which would be even better without the skew of an 8.71 mark in 19 games in his 2006 debut in the Venezuelan Summer League. Since then, between 2007-2010, he made six stops, posting ERAs below 2.00 at four of them. In 2010, between Double-A Springfield and Memphis, he combined for a 2.38 mark, striking out 58 in 53 innings armed with a fastball in the mid 90s and a plus slider. At Memphis before his callup he had gone 1-0 in two games out of the pen with three strikeouts in three perfect innings of relief.

JOSE VALDEZ
RHP, Houston Astros
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-4/185 BORN: Jan. 22, 1983
ACQUIRED: Signed as a minor league free agent in November 2009
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma City April 15 when P Wilton Lopez went on the DL
DEBUT: April 17 in an 8-6 loss to San Diego: The last of five pitchers, he finished up with one hitless shutout inning, walking one and striking out two.
NOTES: Valdez finally makes his big league debut in his 11th pro season and his second in the Astros organization. Originally signed in 2000 out of his native Dominican Republic by the New York Yankees, he was a pitcher on the rise before suffering a series of setbacks, including Tommy John surgery which cost him all of 2005 and then a sore shoulder which sidelined him for much of 2006. After signing with the Astros as a free agent, he missed most of 2010 as well though he did post a 1.46 ERA in 12 innings at Double-A Corpus Christi in his August return. Overall, Valdez has posted a 3.28 ERA in his active time since turning pro. When healthy, he throws a fastball in the mid 90s which he offsets with a forkball and slider. Prior to his promotion, it was clear that his blazing fastball was back as he made a strong impression at spring training with a 2.79 ERA and nine strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings as a non-roster invitee in big league camp, and continued to blow away hitters at Oklahoma City with a 2.45 ERA in three games out of the pen.