Smoak, Havens return to action

Former South Carolina standouts Justin Smoak and Reese Havens both came off the disabled list last week to get their minor league seasons restarted.

First baseman Smoak (Stratford High School) had been sidelined since May 28 with a strained oblique. He came back with two games for the AZL Rangers in the Arizona league, going 4 for 6 with a triple, two homers and five RBIs.

Smoak returned to the lineup with Class AA Frisco last Tuesday. In four games since his return, Smoak is 5 of 14 with two RBIs, raising his season average to .339 with eight homers and 32 RBIs.

Smoak's injury likely cost him a spot in the 11th annual All-Star Futures Game, which will be held July 12 in St. Louis.

Meanwhile, shortstop Havens (Bishop England HS) also returned to action, for Class A St. Lucie, after being out since May 30 with a quadriceps injury. Havens went 4 for 16 in his first four games back, with a double, home run and two RBIs. For the season, he's batting .226 with eight homers and 28 RBIs.

Around the bases

--Three former Citadel Bulldogs made their pro debuts in the last week. First baseman Chris McGuiness (James Island HS) went 2 for 9 in his first two games for Lowell in the New York-Penn League.

Also in the NY-Penn League, Brooklyn Cyclones pitcher Wes Wrenn had a rough start, giving up four hits and three runs in two innings against Hudson Valley on Tuesday. He struck out two and walked none. And in the Appalachian League, pitcher Matt Crim (Stratford HS) got a victory in his first appearance for the Danville Braves. He allowed just three hits and one run in 4 2/3 innings of relief work against Greeneville on Friday, walking none and striking out four.

--Former College of Charleston Cougars taken in the recent draft are also getting their pro careers started. Outfielder Matt Mansilla is batting .250 through five games with Oneonta in the NY-Penn League.

Second baseman Brandon Sizemore is batting just .143 through four games with the AZL Brewers but has driven in four runs. And pitcher Jesse Simpson, with the Johnson City Cardinals in the Appalachian League, worked two innings against Kingsport on Wednesday, allowing no hits or runs, walking three and striking out one.

--After starting the season with a 1 for 22 skid, second baseman Drew Meyer (Bishop England HS/USC) is batting .307 for Class AA Corpus Christi. It's a fresh start for the 27-year-old Meyer, let go by the Rangers, who drafted him in the first round in 2002.

"They said, when you get a new organization, they said you're going to feel like a new player. You're going to get a fresh start with new coaches who don't know you and new management," Meyer recently told KRIS-TV.

After the slow start, Meyer ranks in the top 10 in the Texas League in games, at-bats and batting average.

"I was lost for a little bit. I mean, obviously there is no way I am 1 for 22 player, not many are. But, it was just a situation where I had to back off the game a little bit and just come out here and not worry about the numbers," Meyer said.