Lots of familiar faces dotting Raptors' roster

Ogden's Rick Taloa, Greg Acheatel, Kalen Gearhart, Paul Coleman and Jeremy Brown are all riding on the same boat.

All five are in Ogden again to start the Pioneer League season for another year, but the situation may be a little more pressing for Taloa. He's standing on the plank.

Taloa is starting his third year in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization and all have been in Ogden and he can see the writing on the wall. He needs to move up this year or his professional baseball career could be over.

"I feel it's time to either put up or shut up," he said.

Last year, the 6-foot-4, 275-pound first baseman put up good numbers, and continued to play well in spring training earlier this year — hitting close to .400 and belting four home runs.

Yet the call to Class A ball didn't come.

"I never thought in a million years I would be in extended spring training and coming back to Ogden," he said. "The first thing it did was break my heart. I put everything into it and expected to move up and play with the guys from last year and get something new."

He understands it's a business, however.

"There were those first couple of days when you try to get through it (not getting the call-up). When you see everyone else breaking for the season and you're sitting back with a lot of younger guys wishing and hoping you would have left with them, (but) you have to refocus."

After hitting .261 in 22 games with two homers, nine RBIs, no walks and 26 strikeouts in his first season, Taloa hit .271 last year in 65 games. He belted 11 homers, drove in 48 runs, walked 12 times and fanned 42 times.

"Last year was 10 times different than my first year. I think numbers-wise and production-wise I did a lot better last year as opposed to my first season," the 35th-round selection in the 2005 draft said. "Right now I don't want to put too much pressure on myself."

He knows it will take better numbers.

"I'm hoping I won't be here long. I'm hoping I can come out and put up the numbers to catch the organization guys' eyes so they can realize 'he doesn't belong here,'" he said. "I don't doubt my ability to do the job."

The Raptors open their 2007 campaign tonight at rival Orem.