by John Vittas

It’s Opening Day in Minor League Baseball and three former Terps have received Minor League assignments.

Adam Kolarek (2008-10) enters his second year in the bullpen for the Double-A Binghamton Mets. The southpaw pitcher is beginning his sixth year in the Mets system and has posted a career ERA of 3.36 over 192 Minor League games. Kolarek was originally taken in the 11th Round of the 2010 draft by New York.

While at Maryland, Kolarek pitched primarily out of the bullpen for head coaches Terry Rupp and Erik Bakich. He is a native of Baltimore and graduated from Catonsville High School.

Jimmy Reed (2010-13) starts his 2015 season with the High-A Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League. Reed turned in a nice season in his first full year of pro ball in 2014, going 10-6 with a 3.84 ERA over 24 starts at three different levels. The lefty was the first of six Terps taken in the 2013 draft when he was selected in the sixth round by St. Louis.

The Gaithersburg native graduated from St. John’s College High School and improved drastically over his four years in College Park. He was a reliever his first two years and experienced limited success. But in 2012, Reed broke out. He finished top-10 in the ACC in ERA, posting a 2.84 mark over 60 innings. During that season, he transitioned from the closer’s role into the rotation, where he continued to dominate.

By his senior year, Reed was a seasoned ace. He bettered his ERA in 2013, finishing with a 2.33 mark, which was good for 7th in the conference. Reed tossed multiple complete games and double-digit strikeout performances his senior year, and is currently ninth in school history with 70 career appearances.

Jake Stinnett (2011-14) will make his full-season debut with the South Bend Cubs of the Midwest League. Stinnett pitched sparingly in the pros in 2014 in an attempt to preserve his arm after throwing a school-record 118 innings for the Terps last year. The hard-throwing righty was drafted in the second round by Chicago and signed for an even $1 million. MLB.com recently named Stinnett the No. 13 prospect in the Cubs’ system.

Like Reed, Stinnett began making a significant impact during his junior year. And it was significant. Also like Reed, Stinnett left the closer’s role to enter the rotation mid way through the year. He ended the year 6-5 with 2.83 ERA. The 6-foot-4 inch righty also took home Academic All-ACC Honors and was drafted and unsigned by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Stinnett’s senior year was quite possibly the greatest season ever put together by a Maryland pitcher. He shattered the school record in innings (118) and strikeouts (132) and led the Terps to their first Super Regional in school history. He held opponents to a .195 average (4th in the ACC) and led the conference with four complete games while posting a 2.67 ERA.

Two other Terps will begin the Minor League season in extended Spring Training and will be assigned to a team a little later in the year.

Ben Brewster (2011-14) made his largest impact in 2014 and served as a key reliever on the Terps’ Super Regional team. Brewster struck out 29 batters in 24 innings and finished with a 3.00 ERA.

The lefty was drafted in the 15th Round of last year’s draft by the Chicago White Sox and is finishing up rehabilitation from an injury. A likely destination for Brewster would be Chicago’s High-A team, the Winston-Salem Dash of the Carolina League.

Blake Schmit (2013-14) was drafted by the Minnesota Twins after proving to be a key part of Maryland’s 2014 run to the Super Regionals. He started 114 of Maryland’s 118 games at shortstop during his two years in College Park.

The Minnesota native finished top-20 in the ACC in hitting in 2014, batting .309 with 20 extra-base-hits and 16 stolen bases.

Unfortunately, Spring Training 2015 wasn’t as kind to three other Terps. Charlie White, Jack Cleary and Alfredo Rodriguez were all released by their respective teams.

However, White and Rodriguez have already signed contracts to play for the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League, widely considered the best independent league in the country. The Slammers’ season opens on May 14, when White and Rodriguez will play their first game together since the 2012 season.