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06/13/2008 9:37 AM ET
Movin' On Up: Hurley steps in for troubled vet
Major League debuts from June 6-June 12
By Lisa Winston / MLB.com
Eric Hurley gave up four runs in six innings in his debut for Texas on Thursday. (Ed Zurga/AP)

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The ultimate goal for every Minor Leaguer is to reach the Major Leagues. Every Friday, MiLB.com's new series, Movin' On Up, will take a look at prospects who have reached that goal and made their big-league debut during the week.

Eric Hurley, RHP, Texas Rangers

If he'd been waiting around for this particular transaction, Texas Rangers right-hander Eric Hurley would never have seen his big-league debut coming. Maybe someone on the Texas Rangers staff would have gotten hurt. Maybe a starter would have been especially ineffective. Maybe the decision would have been made, as it has been for so many Minor League starters, to give him his first taste of the bigs in the bullpen.

He certainly couldn't have imagined that the team would release one of its best-performing veteran starters for reasons that had nothing to do with his numbers and everything to do with his attitude.

But troubled veteran hurler Sidney Ponson was handed his walking papers on June 6 and Hurley, the Rangers' first-round pick in 2004, was summoned to take his spot in the big-league rotation.

He made that debut on June 12 in a 6-5 loss to Kansas City. In that game he was not around for the decision, allowing four runs on six hits over six innings.

He was less than a week shy of celebrating the fourth anniversary of the day he signed with the Rangers on June 18, 2004.

Hurley, 22, is in his fifth pro season. In 13 starts for the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks this year he was 2-5 with a 5.30 ERA and had struck out 72 batters while walking 29. The 6-foot-4 195-pounder brought a .235 average against with him over four seasons into the 2008 campaign, having started 2007 at Double-A Frisco where he posted a 3.25 ERA before moving up to Oklahoma for a 4.91 mark.

The official reason for Ponson's release was "actions that were disrespectful to club personnel." Though Hurley has to fill the shoes of a pitcher who had a more-than-respectable 4-1 record and 3.88 ERA in nine starts for Texas. But Ponson, who had two DUI arrests on his record before signing with the Rangers this past offseason, created a scene recently at the team's hotel bar during a series against Tampa Bay and had had several other run-ins with team personnel and manager Ron Washington.

Mitchell Boggs, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Triple-A Memphis June 6 when pitcher Mike Parisi was sent down.

DEBUT: June 6 in a 6-1 loss to Houston. The second of two pitchers, he allowed one run on three hits -- a homer to Geoff Blum in the eighth inning -- over two innings of work.

NOTES: Boggs got the call just a few weeks after opening eyes with one of the best starts of his Minor League career, when he fanned 10 over seven shutout innings of two-hit ball. The outing was overshadowed only by a 2006 appearance in the Florida State League in which he tossed a one-hit shutout, striking out 11. Overall he had been 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA for the Redbirds. The Georgia product was a fifth-round pick in 2005 and though he was a relief ace for the Bulldogs, he's been primarily a starter as a pro. He returned to his college role for his debut before being moved into the rotation for the time being, at least, replacing Todd Wellemeyer who was sidelined with a sore elbow. Boggs made the start June 10 and got the win in a 6-2 victory over Cincinnati, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings.

Michael Hollimon, IF, Detroit Tigers

CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Triple-A Toledo June 6 to replace injured infielder Ramon Santiago. The actual transaction involved placing pitcher Aquilino Lopez on bereavement leave.

DEBUT: June 9 in an 8-2 loss to Cleveland. Came on late in the game at shortstop and went 0-for-1.

NOTES: The Team USA alum who played for the squad that won the most recent World Cup in Taiwan last fall is a shortstop-turned-utility infielder which makes him all the more valuable. Hollimon, who was hitting .250 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and 21 RBIs for the Mud Hens prior to his promotion, was a 16th-round pick in 2005 but in the years since then has emerged as one of their top prospects. At Double-A Erie in 2007, he had a career-high 76 RBIs and stole 17 bases, showing he can contribute with power and speed.

Garrett Mock, RHP, Washington Nationals

CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Triple-A Columbus June 8 when IF Rob Mackowiak was released.

DEBUT: June 8 in a 6-3 loss to San Francisco, he was the starting pitcher and took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings, walking three.

NOTES: Acquired from the Diamondbacks in 2006 in the deal for pitcher Livan Hernandez, Mock missed about half the season in 2007 due to knee surgery, but has worked his way back in fine form at Columbus this season, sporting a 3.02 ERA when promoted. His callup was necessitated by a combination of doubleheaders and injuries and wear and tear on the starting staff of the Nationals so his current tenure is up in the air. He was sent back to Columbus after his start to make room for Monday's starter.

Ryan Tucker, RHP, Florida Marlins

CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Double-A Carolina June 8 when catcher Paul Hoover was sent down.

DEBUT: June 8 in a 9-2 win against Cincinnati. The starting pitcher, he got the win, tossing five innings of two-hit ball, allowing one run and walking five while striking out six. He also hit Edwin Encarnacion with a pitch.

NOTES: Though the Marlins originally had rookie Burke Badenhop slated to start Sunday, they decided at the last minute to bring up 21-year-old Tucker from the Mudcats for the start, inserting him into Badenhop's slot in the rotation for the time being. The two now share the distinction of being the pair of starters to have been brought up straight from Carolina this season, bypassing Triple-A Albuquerque. Tucker had been the ace of the loaded Mudcats staff with a 1.41 ERA in 12 starts, limiting Southern League hitters to a .192 average in 70 innings of work there. Tucker was a supplemental first-round pick in 2005.

Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.