Ben Diggins #53

Single . . . graduated from Bradshaw Mountain High School in Dewey, Arizona in 1998 . . . participated in baseball and basketball . . . was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998 as a supplemental first round pick in the June Free Agent Draft, but chose to attend the University of Arizona where he played baseball.

2004

Attempted a comeback after undergoing surgery in 2003 to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow . . . made four appearances with Rookie Arizona . . . allowed a pair of unearned runs in his first outing . . . did not allow an earned run in any of the four appearances . . . faced 27 batters and allowed just six hits . . . struck out four . . . spent remainder of season rehabbing elbow.

2003

Spent the season with Double A Huntsville where he recorded a 3-2 mark with a 2.36 ERA in eight starts for the Stars . . . shelved in May with arm trouble . . . reported to extended Spring Training for rest and rehabilitation after he was diagnosed with a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his right elbow on May 24 . . . had season ending surgery (reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament in the right elbow) on August 8 by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles, CA . . . went 2-0 on the road with a 2.84 ERA in three starts . . . posted a 2.03 ERA with a 1-2 mark at home . . . compiled a 2-1 record in April with a 2.02 ERA in six starts . . . during one four-start stretch, went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.73 while fanning 22 and walking four . . . held righties to a .219 average (21-96) . . . opponents hit just .190 (8-42) with runners in scoring position . . . allowed just four hits and struck out eight through seven shutout innings vs Birmingham on April 19 . . . got stronger later in games, yielding just one run and six hits in 13.2 innings pitched beyond the fourth frame.

2002

Opened the season with Class A Vero Beach of the Florida State League in the Los Angeles organization... struck out 10 on June 11 vs Sarasota ... limited righthanded batters to a .199 batting average with Vero Beach ... was traded to Milwaukee on July 23 and assigned to Double A Huntsville ... made seven starts for the Stars posting a 1.91 ERA ... did not allow a home run in 37.2 innings with Huntsville ... limited righties to a .150 average while with the Stars ... was purchased from Huntsville on September 1 ... made his Major League debut on September 2 at Chicago (N) ... recorded his first big league strikeout in the same game whiffing Todd Hundley ... made five starts for Milwaukee including two of six-or-more innings ... participated in the Brewers Fall Instructional League ... was named to the Sportsticker All-Florida State League team.

2001

Made professional debut at Class A Wilmington coming on strong in the second half ... was 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA over his last eight starts ... honored as the Dodger organizationbs Pitcher of the Month for August after posting a 4-0 mark along with a 1.81 ERA in six starts ... pitched seven innings of a combined no-hitter with Nial Hughes striking out 10 on August 6 vs Charleston (SC) ... was 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 10 home starts ... limited right-handed hitters to a .183 average (39-213) ... pitched for league champion Phoenix in the Arizona Fall League after the season.