Ayala promoted; Pawelczyk released

Fort Wayne, IN – The Fort Wayne Wizards bullpen will add a new arm to the mix with the arrival of right-hander Manny Ayala from the San Diego Padres’ extended spring training in Peoria, Arizona. The promotion of Ayala coincides with the release of left-hander Kyle Pawelczyk from the Padres system.

Manny Ayala signed with the Padres organization in October of 2005. He went 12-4 with a 3.05 earned run average in 22 games, including 14 starts for Mesa of the independent Golden Baseball League. He had three complete games, one shutout and one save. His 12 victories tied for the league lead, while his one shutout was tied for second, his three complete games were tied for fourth and his ERA was sixth-best in the league.

In 112 innings pitched with Mesa, Ayala allowed 112 hits, 23 walks and struck out 82. He was named the Golden Baseball League Rookie Pitcher of the Year and was named to the league all-star team.

Kyle Pawelczyk was signed by the Padres as a free agent in 2005 after spending the season in Evansville of the Frontier League. Originally drafted by the Angels organization in the third round of the 2002 June Amateur Draft, he was 1-0 with a 5.56 ERA in seven relief appearances for Fort Wayne.