Most of you have probably never even heard of this guy but he is quietly working his way into the future plans of a MLB team. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2004 Draft out of a small school by the name of Sonoma State, located in Rhonert Park, Ca. He was drafted as a first baseman but almost immediately was placed behind a number of prospects that were thought of as being better. He didn’t let this get to him and he kept doing whatever it took to become a better ballplayer. He even started playing a little third base and if he can prove that he can handle the hot corner on a regular basis, that could be his ticket to the show this year. This player’s name is Tommy Everidge and he is currently playing for the Sacramento Rivercats, the AAA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.

You see, the A’s are without their regular third baseman, Eric Chavez for the rest of the season and they currently have a super-sub, Adam Kennedy filling in at third. Now, Kennedy has been having a great year and has done a fine job while playing third. But, with the A’s almost entirely out of the playoff race, they will probably be shopping Kennedy to teams that might be interested in his services. There should be quite a few teams that will be interested in Kennedy and they most likely wouldn’t have to give up much to get him either.

This could open up the door for Everidge to make the jump from AAA to the Majors and see regular playing time. Now, so far in 28 games for the Rivercats, Everidge has hit .339 with 5 HR, 19 RBI, 21 Runs, 9 2B, 1 #b and a .965 OPS. I know that these aren’t eye popping numbers but they are very solid and he can play a position that the A’s may need come the July 31st trade deadline.

All I’m saying is that this is a guy to keep an eye on. Here are some highlight stats I found on MinorLeagueBaseball.com that show the progression he has made while quietly working his way up the ladder.

2008: Spent the season at Double-A Midland. … Was named MLB.com Double-A Best Single-Game Performer after going 4-for-6 with three homers and a Minor League season-high 10 RBIs on May 26 at Tulsa. … Was named Texas League Player of the Week on June 2 and Aug. 4. … Drove in 11 runs during an eight-game RBI streak from July 1-10… Drove in 14 runs during an eight-game RBI streak from July 25-Aug. 2. … Led the Texas League with 115 RBIs. Ranked fourth with 148 hits and 34 doubles and fifth with 89 runs scored. … Was named a Texas League midseason and postseason All-Star.

2007: Led the California League with a career-high 26 home runs and a career-high 90 RBIs for Class A Advanced Stockton. … Had two home runs and four RBIs in a game twice, the first against Lake Elsinore on May 6 and the other against Modesto on July 3 … Finished the season by going 8-for-13 with three home runs and eight RBIs in a three-game series against Lancaster on Aug. 24-26 … After being promoted to Double-A Midland he went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored against Frisco on Sept. 3.

2006: Hit .252 with 20 home runs and 83 RBIs in 504 at-bats for Class A Advanced Stockton…ranked fifth in the California League in runs (89) and fourth in games (133).

2005: Hit .279 with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs in 365 at-bats for Class A Kane County.

2004: Hit .275 with six home runs and 52 RBIs in 291 at-bats for Class A Short-Season Vancouver…led the Northwest League in games (74) and was third in at-bats.