From preps to the big leagues

[Controlled Chaos]

From preps to the big leagues

By Jon Greenberg / MLBPLAYERS.com

 

Brian Anderson stood in the outfield and laughed.

Anderson, a member of the Class of 2000 at Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, Ariz., was in his customary spot at U.S. Cellular Field, as Cardinals first baseman Chris Duncan (Canyon del Oro Class of 1999) jogged to first, the recipient of a baseball in the back side.

 

Anderson had been hit in the back with the bases loaded the previous inning by Sidney Ponson (who also hit Pablo Ozuna). After plunking Duncan in apparent retaliation, White Sox pitcher David Riske was promptly ejected.

 

"I was laughing in [the] outfield when he got hit, because ... what are the chances that him and I get hit?" Anderson said a day later. "I told him to wear it, deal with it. We were just laughing about it afterward."

 

For a brief moment in time, all was sore, but good, for the longtime friends. Anderson, who has struggled in his first full year in the Majors, missed the next game as he started a five-game suspension for fighting with the Cubs last month. Duncan, just trying to break into the big leagues after a long tenure in the Minors, returned to Triple-A Memphis a day later when Albert Pujols came off the disabled list.

 

Anderson and Duncan are among four former Canyon del Oro players who have played in the Majors this year. It might not be long before more make a home there.

 

Anderson's best friend from high school, Ian Kinsler (Class of 2000), regularly starts at second for the Texas Rangers.

 

Scott Hairston (Class of 1999) appeared in one game this year for the Arizona Diamondbacks before going on the DL. Duncan's older brother Shelley (Class of 1998) is a rising power hitter in the Minors and was just promoted to the Yankees' Triple-A team. Ryan Schroyer (Class of 2000) is a pitcher with Boston's Triple-A team.

 

"I truly believe that if you put our high school team back together, we could have easily competed and beat a lot of Division I baseball teams, no doubt," said Anderson, who played briefly with Shelley Duncan at the University of Arizona.

 

For all its talent, Canyon del Oro "only" won state titles in 1997 and 2000 during the group's high school career. It lost in the 5A state quarterfinals in 1999 when Chris Duncan, Hairston, Kinsler and Anderson all started in the field.

 

"Hell must've frozen over," Anderson said. "I don't know how we lost. My sophomore and junior year teams were our two best teams and we lost both those years."

 

Kinsler has had the smoothest transition to the Majors so far. He broke camp with the Rangers and was hitting .476 before dislocating his left thumb on April 11. He came back in late May and is hitting .287 with five homers and 21 RBIs. Hairston, part of a baseball legacy family, is on the 15-day DL (June 20, left biceps strain) before he likely heads back to the Minors. He is the most seasoned of the group, having played in 116 Major League games since 2004.

 

Even though they don't talk regularly, the CDO alums see each other regularly after the season.

 

"We're all a close-knit group and we get together in the offseason," Chris Duncan said. "It was a special time in Tucson when all those guys were coming out. It was great baseball."

 

The Duncan brothers are the sons of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, but they haven't gotten anything easy because of it. Chris has been in the Minors since getting drafted out of high school. He made his Major League debut last year. Shelley, a second round pick by the Yankees in 2001, finally got called up to Triple-A after again dominating the Eastern League in power numbers. He hit 34 homers last season.

 

Chris, 25, was drafted between the first and second rounds by the Cardinals in 1999 as a supplemental pick. At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, the left-handed hitter broke out in his first Triple-A season in 2005, hitting 21 home runs and 73 RBIs. He made a nine-game debut last September and has been called up twice this season.

 

"He's worked hard," Dave Duncan said. "He wasn't a natural. He's had to work hard at the game and he's known he's needed to work hard and he's done it. Hopefully it's paying off for him."

 

He made a brief appearance in May and then came back up to the Cardinals when Pujols went on the disabled list on June 4. His bat helped the team stay afloat during Pujols' absence. Duncan hit .275 (11-for-40) with three homers and nine RBIs during his callups.

 

"I have no idea what their plans are for me," Duncan said a day before he was designated. "I have the opportunity to contribute, and whatever they want to do is fine with me."

 

While Duncan has played well in his brief Major League stint this season, Anderson has had a tough time, at least at the plate.

 

The 24-year-old Anderson landed the job in center after Spring Training, but has been platooning with Rob Mackowiak before his suspension began. While Mackowiak is limited defensively, Anderson's struggles at the plate have forced Chicago to play Mackowiak more. At one point it seemed certain Anderson would go down to Triple-A, but his defensive ability has been impressive enough to keep him in Chicago.

 

"It was difficult from an egotistical level for me," Anderson said of his slumps. "But I was the one not performing, so it was no one's fault. ... I figured I had to help the team somehow, because I wasn't doing it with the stick. So I had to help them obviously the best I could."

 

Chris Duncan said he talks to Anderson more than any other of his CDO peers, aside from his brother. He and his father both raved about Anderson's ability as a prep star, and neither thinks Anderson will struggle for long.

 

"They rushed him up pretty quick," Duncan said. "He's still young. He's going to be a great player, he just needs time and they're keeping him there and give him a chance to come out of his slump, so I'm sure he's going to be fine."

 

Duncan said it was "uncomfortable" at times when he joined the organization his father works for, but now he doesn't even think about it.

 

"Definitely most of the eyes were on him," Anderson said. "If he does perform, well then it's because he's Dave Duncan's son. If he doesn't, it's 'Does he deserve to be here?' But that guy's definitely earned it, 100 percent."

[Whitewashed in '05]

Cool story. It's pretty cool that so many guys from the same high school team are in the majors or at least have a future in the majors.