AREA TALENT WITH MAJOR ASPIRATIONS

The following is a listing of players with area ties who are competing in professional baseball.

Included in the list are each players' name, school or team, his last year as an amateur and his major league affiliation (statistics are through Sunday).

Steve Bieser (Ste. Genevieve High School, Southeast Missouri State 1989) Pittsburgh Pirates:

Bieser, who has seen some major-league time over the past two seasons after previously toiling only in the minors, began this year with the Triple A Nashville (Tenn.) Sounds and was hitting .231 before being sent down to the Double A Altoona (Pa.) Curve.

A veteran utility man who can play a variety of positions, Bieser is batting .235 with four home runs and 18 runs batted in for the Curve, who compete in the Eastern League.

Lamonte Collier (Southeast Missouri State 1997) Philadelphia Phillies):

Collier, in his third year of professional baseball, is in his second season with the Single A Clearwater (Fla.) Phillies. He is batting .208 with two doubles, two triples and nine RBIs.

Talley Haines (Cape Central High School, Southeast Missouri State, Freed Hardeman 1998) Tampa Bay Devil Rays:

Haines, a righthanded pitcher in his second pro season, has moved up from Rookie League ball to regular Single A -- and he's opening plenty of eyes as a standout reliever in the South Atlantic League.

Competing for the Charleston (S.C.) Riverdogs, Haines is 1-0 with six saves and a 2.14 earned-run average. In 14 appearances spanning 21 innings, he has allowed just 10 hits while striking out 24 and walking four.

Cliff Politte (Cape Girardeau Capahas 1997) Philadelphia Phillies:

It wasn't long ago when Politte, a righthanded pitcher, was the toast of St. Louis as he surprisingly made the Cardinals' roster out of spring training and had plenty of success early in the season.

But he's struggled ever since, ultimately being dealt to the Philadelphia organization. This year, competing for the Double AA Reading (Pa.) Phillies of the Eastern League, Politte is 1-6 with a 4.70 ERA. In 59 1/3 innings, he has allowed 67 hits while fanning 60 and walking 24.

Kerry Robinson (Southeast Missouri State 1995) Seattle Mariners:

Robinson, an outfielder, has put up consistently solid numbers in Triple A the past several years but has only been in the majors for a few games, that coming at the end of last season.

Formerly one of the top prospects in the Cardinals' organization, he was taken by Tampa Bay in the 1998 expansion draft and was picked up by Seattle this year.

Competing for the Triple A Tacoma (Wash.) Rainers, Robinson is batting .289 with five triples, eight doubles, 21 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He leads the Pacific Coast League in both steals and triples.

Matt Whiteside (Charleston High School, Arkansas State 1986) San Diego Padres:

Whiteside, a veteran righthanded pitcher who has spent more than five seasons in the majors -- both with Texas and Philadelphia -- was obtained by the San Diego organization this year.

Pitching for the Triple A Las Vegas Stars of the Pacific Coast League, Whiteside is 4-2 with two saves and a 5.16 ERA in 20 appearances, including three starts. In 45 1/3 innings, he has allowed 58 hits while fanning 45 and walking 12.