Former Tar Heels Adjust to Minor Leagues

You get drafted in June's amateur draft, sign your first contract and then get shipped to play for your first professional ballclub.

But unless you're the next Mark Prior, a right-handed pitcher who started his first game for the Chicago Cubs just eight months after he was legally able to purchase alcohol, you can forget about seeing the big city any time soon.

Unless, of course, Oneonta, N.Y., or Dunedin, Fla., fits your definition of a booming metropolis.

Those are just two of the places that the North Carolina baseball team's recent quartet of draftees ended up in this, their first summer as professional ballplayers.

And though Russ Adams, Scott Autrey, Adam Greenberg and Chris Maples all have had different levels of success following their final seasons as Tar Heels, each has gone through the same adjustments to life on the road as to the big leagues.

"It's been all right," said Maples, a third baseman who was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Tigers. "You're getting paid to play baseball, and you have to remember that."

Maples' summer has been filled with ups and downs, starting with his torrid start in extended spring training in Lakeland, Fla. He batted .412 in 17 at-bats before getting moved to Oneonta of the short-season Class-A New York-Penn League.

Despite the fact that Hillsborough's Maples had never been to a sleepy Northeastern town like Oneonta -- "nothing to brag about," he insists -- he said he has adjusted well to the new league and different environment.

Maples has had his share of struggles, as well. On July 2, he broke the hamate bone in his left wrist while fouling off a pitch and was sidelined for nearly five weeks after surgery. In 75 at-bats at Oneonta, Maples is hitting .213 with one home run and 11 RBIs.

Autrey, Tampa Bay's seventh-round pick, went without a win until Aug. 7, when he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 2-1 Hudson Valley victory against Staten Island. The win was Autrey's first since he defeated James Madison in an NCAA regional game.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-hander is 2-3 with a 3.06 ERA in nine starts in the New York-Penn League. He has struck out 31 and walked 12 in 47 innings.

Autrey and Maples weren't the only UNC players to get their starts in the two-state, 14-team league. Russ Adams, whom Toronto made the highest-drafted Tar Heel when it selected him with the 14th pick of the first round, started out playing for the Auburn Doubledays in Auburn, N.Y.

Adams earned a $1.785 million bonus and quickly reported to the New York-Penn League, where he dominated. Before his promotion to the high Class-A Florida State League on July 20, Adams hit .354 with seven doubles, three triples and 13 stolen bases in 113 at-bats.

"It was a good place to start," Adams said. "I was with a lot of guys who were college guys, so it was an easy transition."

It was also a good place for Adams to continue honing his skills at shortstop. He played primarily at second base during his junior year at UNC, but the Blue Jays liked him on the other side of the bag.

"One, he likes to play (at shortstop)," said Chris Buckley, Toronto's scouting director. "A bunch of our scouts saw him play short and said that we've got to give him a chance there. Besides, if he stays at short it will only help him.

"He doesn't remind me of any one player. He does remind me of a major-league guy. He's a real even-keel guy."

Since his call-up to the Dunedin Blue Jays, Adams has hit .248 with one home run and 11 RBIs in 129 at-bats. He said he's still adjusting to the better, more mature pitchers in the FSL.

Greenberg has made his share of changes, especially after his call-up to the FSL's Daytona Cubs. The center fielder, who was the Chicago Cubs' ninth-round pick, started in the low Class-A Midwest League with the Lansing Lugnuts, where he hit .224 in 116 at-bats.

"I'm getting away from the dip-and-jack mode," said Greenberg, whom the Cubs want to be more of a prototypical leadoff hitter.

His work, at least lately, has paid off. A day after working one-on-one with Cubs roving instructor and former big leaguer John Cangelosi, Greenberg hit for the cycle, going 5-for-6 against the St. Lucie Mets on Aug. 17.

But as Greenberg said, "it's not a sprint, it's a marathon." Adams and Maples said that barring a baseball strike, they will attend instructional league following the season.

Greenberg said the Cubs aren't inviting first-year players to the instructional league, so he'll work out and teach clinics in the off-season to stay in shape.

And once spring rolls around, Greenberg and his former teammates will all be back at it once again, enduring the nightmarish travel schedules, the small towns and miniscule meal allowances.

"It's just been a really good experience," Adams said.

"There are long bus rides, and it's hot, but it's been fun."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.