Sorry for the delayed blogging today, but things just never got off the mark this morning and I’m playing “catch-up”. Moving up through the pitching ranks, we find Jim Crowell next on our list of prospects. A little history on his journey through baseball, c/o the baseballcube.com:

Signed - Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 1995 Jun 17,1995 - Signed as undrafted amateur Free Agent by Indians. Jul 31,1997 - Traded by Indians with Scott Winchester, Damian Jackson and Danny Graves to Reds for John Smiley and Jeff Branson. Jul 11,2000 - Released by Reds. Jul 22,2000 - Signed as Free Agent by Cardinals. Oct 12,2000 - Released by Cardinals. Nov 16,2000 - Signed as Free Agent by Cardinals. Mar 30,2001 - Released by Cardinals. Apr 23,2001 - Signed as Free Agent by Padres. Jul 2,2001 - Released by Padres. May 1,2002 - Signed by independent Atlantic City (Atlantic) Aug 18,2002 - Purchased by Phillies from Atlantic City (Atlantic). Oct 4,2004 - Granted Free Agency. Nov 23,2004 - Signed as Free Agent by Marlins. Feb 9,2006 - Signed by Nationals (minor)

Somewhere in there they missed the deal that brought him back to the Phillies; he pitched in SWB last season. Here are his stats. Unfortunately, Jim is a player about whom I could find precious little on the ‘net. MiLB reports:

“Crowell has spent four of the past five seasons in the Phillies organization, including 2006, going 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA in 40 appearances — seven starts — for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 32-year-old appeared in four games for the Phillies in 2004 and two games for the Reds in 1997. “

We also know that he’s one of the non-roster invitees to ST, so I’ll try to update his profile with stats and recaps of his performances. The thing is, there’s always a “story” out there - I just haven’t found his yet.