Slugger Weglarz just two steps shy of the majors

Nick Weglarz is continuing his climb up the professional baseball league ladder.
Though he's only 21, Weglarz, who is from Stevensville, Ont., is already into his fifth season as a pro.
He's currently a member of the Ohio-based Akron Aeros, which competes in the Eastern League. The Aeros are the AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, so Weglarz is toiling just two steps below the major leagues.
For Weglarz, whose Aboriginal roots trace back to his grandfather who is Sarsee, this marks his first year at the AA ranks.
He spent the 2008 season with the Kinston Indians, a North Carolina-based squad that participates in the Class A Advanced Carolina League.
"It's the same game," Weglarz said of his move up to the AA level this season. "But the pitchers get better and the hitting gets better."
Though the outfielder is considered one of the Aeros' top sluggers, Weglarz did not get off to a booming beginning in Akron.
"I had a rough start," he said. "But then I made a couple of adjustments."
Weglarz had just three hits in his first 48 at-bats with the Akron squad.
But his play started to improve after working with Aeros' hitting coach Lee May Jr.
"Part of it was I was trying to do too much and some of it was mechanics," Weglarz said of his early-season slump at the plate.
Weglarz, who packs 255 pounds onto his 6-foot-3-inch frame, said one of the reasons he was trying to do too much early on was because he wanted to impress the Indians' staff.
During a pre-season issue of Baseball America, Weglarz was listed as the third-best prospect in the Indians' organization.
He's fully aware that if he continues to play well he could be called up to the AAA ranks or even the major leagues.
"I think there's always a chance," he said. "But you try not to look ahead."
Meanwhile, looking back at this young season, a highlight for Weglarz came when he was named as the Eastern League's player of the week for the week ending May 17.
Weglarz hit an impressive .458 that week with 11 hits in 24 at-bats. During the week Weglarz hit one home run and three doubles. He also scored six runs and had eight runs batted in.
"I was playing well for all of May," Weglarz said. "And I hit well for that week."
Weglarz has been getting his share of feedback from the Aeros' brass.
"They go by games and by weeks," he said. "They look at 10-15 at-bats in a row."
And a lot of the comments Weglarz has been receiving lately are positive as he is either leading the Aeros or among the team leaders in numerous statistical categories.
The Cleveland Indians drafted Weglarz in 2005 during his final year at Lakeshore Catholic High School in Stevensville.
After signing his first pro contract, Weglarz played that summer with the North Carolina-based Burlington Indians, which competed in the Rookie class Appalachian League.
As for the 2006 campaign, that was virtually a complete writeoff for Weglarz. He spent the majority of the season recuperating from a broken hand. He injured the hand during winter training sessions and broke it during his first game playing with Florida's Gulf Coast League Indians.
Weglarz returned to action for the '07 season. He spent the majority of the year with Ohio's Lake Country Captains of the Class A South Atlantic League.
Weglarz has also played in some international events in the past year.
For starters, he was a member of the Canadian club that competed in the Beijing Olympics last summer. Canada placed sixth in the men's baseball competition.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime event," he said. "I'd say the highlight was walking out with all of the other athletes from your country (during the opening ceremonies). Knowing half the world was watching was neat."
Weglarz was also on the Canadian squad that participated in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year. Canada was eliminated from further play after it lost both of its round-robin matches.
Canada played both of its games at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
"That was amazing too," Weglarz said. "It was the first time I got to play in Canada since turning pro."
The Canadian roster featured several current major league players including Justin Morneau, Matt Stairs, Joey Votto and Jason Bay.
"They're all pretty big names," he said. "They were all welcoming and it was a good team to play with."