Fullmer Set to Show He’s Worth the Call

Hits have been plentiful for Brad Fullmer during a memorable 1997 season. It’s been sleep that has been in short supply over the past few days.

Fullmer was informed on Wednesday that he will be one of six Ottawa Lynx players joining the Montreal Expos when major league rosters can be expanded this week.

“I definitely haven’t slept very much at night,� said the former Montclair Prep standout, the Expos’ second-round draft pick in 1993. “It’s pretty exciting.�

With Montreal entering the weekend 16 1/2 games behind East Division-leading Atlanta, Fullmer figures to get some playing time upon arriving in Montreal for an interleague game Tuesday with Boston.

“This is exactly what you work so hard for,� he said. “Now’s the chance to show them what I can do and look for possibilities for next year.�

And, with the budget-conscious Expos, the possibilities are seemingly limitless for talented prospects.

In past seasons, the club has cut loose such players as Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Mark Langston in favor of younger, less expensive players.

“That makes the situation great here,� Fullmer said. “I’m very happy to be with this organization.�

The promotion will be Fullmer’s second in five weeks.

The first baseman/outfielder was batting .311 with 19 home runs and 62 runs batted in for double-A Harrisburg before being promoted to triple A on July 29.

Through Friday, he was batting .304 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 21 games with Ottawa.

Fullmer isn’t the only local product called up by the Expos.

Former Chatsworth High and Valley College reliever Jim Benedict, now Montreal’s minor league pitching coordinator, will join the club to oversee this week’s pitching call-ups.

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Former Rio Mesa High standout Dmitri Young, the St. Louis Cardinals’ first-round pick in 1991, was sent down to triple-A Louisville on Friday.

It’s speculated that Young, a first baseman who had seen little playing time since the July 31 acquisition of Mark McGwire, will resurface with the club this week and play some in the outfield.

It would not be the first position change for Young, who batted .257 in 89 games with the Cardinals.

He was drafted as a shortstop out of Rio Mesa, but switched to first base because of defensive deficiencies.

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NOTES: Channel Islands High graduate Jacob Cruz, recently promoted to the San Francisco Giants, last week was named the Pacific Coast League’s player of the month for July but sent back down to triple-A Phoenix last Monday. He was one for four with two strikeouts in his short stay. He figures to be called up Monday. . . . Another local product who is a candidate for promotion is former Notre Dame High catcher Bobby Hughes. Hughes, who has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, has recovered from a wrist injury this season to bat .307 for the Tucson Toros, the Milwaukee Brewers’ triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate. . . . Former Montclair Prep pitcher Russ Ortiz, a starter at Phoenix after two seasons as a closer in the Giants’ organization, was named the Pacific Coast League’s pitcher of the week for Aug. 10-16.