PISCATAWAY, NJ – A total of 12 former Rutgers University baseball standouts will be playing professional baseball this season. Headlining the group is Eric Young, the starting second baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, while his former teammate, Angel Echevarria, has signed on to play professionally in Japan’s Pacific League.

Young, who hit .280 last season as the Brewers’ everyday second baseman, is off to a .385 start through six games in 2003. Echevarria batted .306 in 50 games with the Chicago Cubs last season, but has opted to play overseas in 2003. He signed a free agent contract with the Nippon Ham Fighters on December 15, 2002.

Rutgers also has 10 players spread throughout the minor leagues. Former outfielder/first baseman Pete Zoccolillo broke spring training with the Class AAA Indianapolis Indians, the top farm team of the Milwaukee Brewers, while three others are destined for Class AA. Outfielder David DeJesus, who suffered a hairline fracture in his shoulder during a Major League spring training game, will report to Wichita in early May, while fellow outfielder Billy McCarthy is in Greenville, SC. Former relief pitcher Eric Brown, who advanced as high as AAA last season and spent significant time in the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen during spring training, will open the year in West Tennessee.

Darren Fenster, RU’s all-time hits leader, is back in Wilmington (DE) for the second-straight season and will serve as the team’s starting third baseman. He was a Carolina League All-Star at Wilmington last season. Fellow Carolina Leaguer Buddy Gallagher, who underwent arm surgery during the off-season, is also slated to return to his 2002 team, the Salem Avalanche, when he is ready for action. A pair of draft picks from last season, Val Majewski and Jason Bergmann, have advanced to full-season A ball. Majewski will open with the Delmarva (MD) Shore Birds, while Bergmann will pitch for the Savannah (GA) Sand Gnats.

Two other draft picks from last season remain in extended spring training. Shortstop Tim Sweeney is expected to rejoin the Vermont Expos in June, while first-round pick Bobby Brownlie will continue to pitch in the warm weather of Arizona before joining the Cubs’ farm team in Lansing (MI) or Daytona (FL) sometime in May.