The 2008 Austrian Baseball champion MOSQUITO ATHLETICS announced that the 17-year-old catcher Markus Efferdinger will join the club for the 2009 season. Due to a loan contract he will be eligible to play with his old team WELS JUMPIN’ CHICKENS in the second division in Austria.
Efferdinger, who was the lone Austrian to get an invitation for the MLB Academy training camp in Tirrenia, Italy last August, batted .435 (OBP .463/SLG .629) with one triple, ten doubles, 21 runs scored and 13 RBIs in 19 games. He threw out four of 17 potential base stealers (.235). He also had 14 appearances on the mound, starting eleven games with an 8-4 record and an ERA of 5.28. He struck out 101 and walked 56 batters in 65 innings.
Sportnet.at also report that the team from ATTNANG-PUCHHEIM is also interested to bring back the Jonathan Kashuba, who already played for the A’s in 2004 and 2005. They remain in the hunt for southpaw Matthias Koppensteiner. The 20-year-old of the STOCK CITY CUBS also has offers from the SUPERFUND WANDERERS and the promoted SCHWECHAT BLUE BATS.