Project continues

Thank you to the two people who popped into the comments yesterday regarding Wisconsin natives in organized ball.

They made sure to mention Jason Jaramillo of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He is a Racine native and got this story in the Racine Journal-Times after last night's game.

The 2001 Case High School graduate appears to have arrived as catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates — at least until starter Ryan Doumit is expected to return from a broken bone in his right wrist around midseason — and Jaramillo has arrived with a smile.

He has done pretty well with the Pirates. What does his manager think?

So delighted is Pirates manager John Russell, who managed Jaramillo with the Class AAA Ottawa Lynx in 2007, that he only could think of one complaint.

“The only knock I have on him is he’s from Oklahoma State,” joked Russell, who was a catcher for arch-rival Oklahoma from 1979-82.

Makes sense. There is this little bit of trivia, too.

Jaramillo, a Franksville native who becomes the first position player from Racine County to start for a major league team since Case graduate Duane Kuiper started 18 games at second base for the 1984 San Francisco Giants.

Yes, Duane Kuiper. What's he doing now?