SYRACUSE - Both Aaron Bulkley and Aaron Hill are doing just fine - no, better than fine - with their respective baseball careers.
SkyChiefs' shortstop Aaron Hill makes the throw to first base as part of a double play. Glenn Gaston / Special to The Citizen
Although, Tuesday afternoon's exhibition game between Le Moyne College and the Syracuse SkyChiefs didn't exactly serve as much indication of that for either player.
In the first game played between the teams since 1983, the SkyChiefs used seven pitchers in seven innings and prevailed, 2-1, although the Dolphins were able to outhit their professional counterparts, 6-5.
None of those hits came from Bulkley, Le Moyne's senior center fielder from Port Byron, or Hill, the former Auburn Doubleday and the Toronto Blue Jays' first-round draft pick in 2003, who has steadily moved up the organizational ranks and is penciled in as Syracuse's starting shortstop.
Bulkley, who himself was a 10th-round draftee of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001, continues to put together a very strong season for Le Moyne (8-8), which is about one third of the way through its schedule. Bulkley is second on the team in hitting, at .359, and first in on-base percentage (.453) and stolen bases (six).
In other words, exactly what you'd want out of your leadoff hitter, which Bulkley is.
This follows a breakout summer of sorts for the 6-foot-3, 200-pound former Panther, who was named prospect of the year in the wooden-bat amateur Great Lakes Collegiate League.
In his first competition against professionals, and his first time swinging a wooden bat since the summer, Bulkley did nothing at the plate, going 0-for-3 while seeing only six pitches.
As the game's first batter, Bulkley struck out looking at three straight pitches from Syracuse starter Chad Gaudin. In the third, Bulkley popped up to shallow left field off lefthander Adrian Burnside, and in the sixth, he grounded out to first base on Jason Arnold's first pitch.
After the game, Bulkley shrugged off his subpar day with a true baseball player's even-mindedness.
"It was definitely an opportunity to show scouts something," he said, "but I know I have a lot more opportunities to come. We're a good program, and a lot of scouts follow us around."
Bulkley made a better impression in Alliance Bank Stadium's vast center field, with two putouts, including an excellent running catch of a line drive hit by SkyChief Justin Singleton in the second inning, saving two runs from scoring.
Bulkley has added a second major to his curriculum at Le Moyne, and is on pace to graduate in the fall. By that time, he hopes, he'll have some minor-league experience of his own.
"I've had a great season so far, and I played very well last summer," Bulkley said. "Hopefully everything goes smoothly and works out.
As for Hill, the blue-chipper's career has only risen since his brief stint in Auburn at the start of the 2003 season. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder was promoted to Class A Dunedin from Auburn, and played all of last season at Class AA New Hampshire, hitting .279 with 11 homers and 80 RBIs.
With the way he's going and the rapid way Toronto likes to advance its top prospects, Hill could well be a Blue Jay by the end of the season.
But Hill, whose roommate in spring training was ex-Doubleday Vito Chiaravalloti, hasn't forgotten Auburn yet.
"It's good to be back in this area," he said. "I look forward to maybe seeing some old Auburn friends. Hopefully the weather warms up a little bit. It was a great day today - a good way to open up the season like that."
The SkyChiefs, who play their official opener Thursday at home against the Rochester Red Wings, can only hope for equally fine weather as Tuesday's sunny, nearly 60-degree conditions, in the early going.
Syracuse also looks to catch up with the rest of Toronto's minor league teams by reversing its losing ways of the past several seasons. According to manager Marty Pevey, Hill should be a key part of that effort.
"I'm really looking forward to having Aaron play for us," Pevey said. "He's a big prospect, and I'm sure it'll be a struggle for him at times, but I look for big things from him."
Hill, who played flawlessly at short, grounded out to third in the second inning against former CBA pitcher T.J. Sheridan.
He was walked on four straight pitches by Adam LeDuc in the third, before leaving the game for backup infielder Danny Solano in the fifth inning.
In the SkyChiefs' dugout, the easygoing Californian, by way of Louisiana State University, showed what a positive clubhouse presence he is. Hill could be seen handing pitchers their warmup jackets as they came off the mound, and otherwise constantly moving around and interacting with his teammates.
"It's going to be a lot of fun this season," he said. "We've got a bunch of older guys that really keep it loose, and guys who love to work and play hard. That's a good combination that's going to put together a lot of wins this year."
In the first game played between the teams since 1983, the SkyChiefs used seven pitchers in seven innings and prevailed, 2-1, although the Dolphins were able to outhit their professional counterparts, 6-5.
None of those hits came from Bulkley, Le Moyne's senior center fielder from Port Byron, or Hill, the former Auburn Doubleday and the Toronto Blue Jays' first-round draft pick in 2003, who has steadily moved up the organizational ranks and is penciled in as Syracuse's starting shortstop.
Bulkley, who himself was a 10th-round draftee of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001, continues to put together a very strong season for Le Moyne (8-8), which is about one third of the way through its schedule. Bulkley is second on the team in hitting, at .359, and first in on-base percentage (.453) and stolen bases (six).
In other words, exactly what you'd want out of your leadoff hitter, which Bulkley is.
This follows a breakout summer of sorts for the 6-foot-3, 200-pound former Panther, who was named prospect of the year in the wooden-bat amateur Great Lakes Collegiate League.
In his first competition against professionals, and his first time swinging a wooden bat since the summer, Bulkley did nothing at the plate, going 0-for-3 while seeing only six pitches.
As the game's first batter, Bulkley struck out looking at three straight pitches from Syracuse starter Chad Gaudin. In the third, Bulkley popped up to shallow left field off lefthander Adrian Burnside, and in the sixth, he grounded out to first base on Jason Arnold's first pitch.
After the game, Bulkley shrugged off his subpar day with a true baseball player's even-mindedness.
"It was definitely an opportunity to show scouts something," he said, "but I know I have a lot more opportunities to come. We're a good program, and a lot of scouts follow us around."
Bulkley made a better impression in Alliance Bank Stadium's vast center field, with two putouts, including an excellent running catch of a line drive hit by SkyChief Justin Singleton in the second inning, saving two runs from scoring.
Bulkley has added a second major to his curriculum at Le Moyne, and is on pace to graduate in the fall. By that time, he hopes, he'll have some minor-league experience of his own.
"I've had a great season so far, and I played very well last summer," Bulkley said. "Hopefully everything goes smoothly and works out.
As for Hill, the blue-chipper's career has only risen since his brief stint in Auburn at the start of the 2003 season. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder was promoted to Class A Dunedin from Auburn, and played all of last season at Class AA New Hampshire, hitting .279 with 11 homers and 80 RBIs.
With the way he's going and the rapid way Toronto likes to advance its top prospects, Hill could well be a Blue Jay by the end of the season.
But Hill, whose roommate in spring training was ex-Doubleday Vito Chiaravalloti, hasn't forgotten Auburn yet.
"It's good to be back in this area," he said. "I look forward to maybe seeing some old Auburn friends. Hopefully the weather warms up a little bit. It was a great day today - a good way to open up the season like that."
The SkyChiefs, who play their official opener Thursday at home against the Rochester Red Wings, can only hope for equally fine weather as Tuesday's sunny, nearly 60-degree conditions, in the early going.
Syracuse also looks to catch up with the rest of Toronto's minor league teams by reversing its losing ways of the past several seasons. According to manager Marty Pevey, Hill should be a key part of that effort.
"I'm really looking forward to having Aaron play for us," Pevey said. "He's a big prospect, and I'm sure it'll be a struggle for him at times, but I look for big things from him."
Hill, who played flawlessly at short, grounded out to third in the second inning against former CBA pitcher T.J. Sheridan.
He was walked on four straight pitches by Adam LeDuc in the third, before leaving the game for backup infielder Danny Solano in the fifth inning.
In the SkyChiefs' dugout, the easygoing Californian, by way of Louisiana State University, showed what a positive clubhouse presence he is. Hill could be seen handing pitchers their warmup jackets as they came off the mound, and otherwise constantly moving around and interacting with his teammates.
"It's going to be a lot of fun this season," he said. "We've got a bunch of older guys that really keep it loose, and guys who love to work and play hard. That's a good combination that's going to put together a lot of wins this year."