SLIPPERY ROCK — Nate Yoho isn't naive to how the game is played both on the baseball field and off.

In 2005 as an outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers Rookie League team in Arizona, the left-handed hitting outfielder batted .298 with two home runs and 29 RBI.

It was a pretty good season for a rookie who had just signed a pro contract after graduating from the University of Iowa, where he hit cleanup, drove in 41 runs in 56 games and led the Hawkeyes with eight home runs his senior season.

Despite the good numbers at the plate and the reputation for being a solid outfielder, Yoho was just waiting for the ax to drop on him.

"Once you get into the affiliated system, you kind of know how it is going to work," Yoho said. "Guys who get the money are going to play. Young guys are going to play no matter what you do. I had a good year my rookie year and I just got forced out because of all the talent at the lower levels. I was kind of expecting it sooner. I had already prepared myself to be playing somewhere else."

The Brewers promoted him to Class A ball in West Virginia, where he struggled, then released him after last season.

"My attitude was if I get cut, I get cut," Yoho said. "I'm not going to cry about it."

Now with a thick brown beard covering his boyish face, the 25-year-old is looking for a new start in the Frontier League with the Slippery Rock Sliders.

For Yoho, it's a chance to keep playing, and perhaps to show another organization he is worth another shot.

"I had three or four teammates pulled out of this league in the Milwaukee organization," Yoho said. "It's a great opportunity for guys who get pushed out of the system in affiliated ball to continue playing and maybe get picked up, or, if they just love to play the game, to keep on playing."

In the Frontier League, if you are slumping, you are one step closer to being out of the game.

That kind of pressure can hinder a player, or help him, Yoho said.

"I put so much pressure on myself in college and trying to stick around in pro ball, that I'm actually pretty relaxed here," Yoho said.

Zac Cline is young, he's tall, he's a left-hander and his fastball crackles through the chilly Slippery Rock air at a brisk 90 mph.

With attributes like that, Cline is hoping his days with the Sliders will get him noticed and with a big league organization again.

Last year, Cline bounced between the Philadelphia Phillies' Class A affiliates Lakewood and Clearwater.

Cline said he was nowhere near 100 percent after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2005.

Cline was with the Phillies in spring training this season before they released him.

"It was just a numbers game," Cline said. "My first year with them, the organization was thin in pitching up and down the system, but they had some good drafts. I pitched pretty good this spring, but my velocity wasn't where they wanted it to be."

It didn't take Cline long to find a home with the Sliders. Slippery Rock pitching coach Adam Shafer was his teammate in the Phillies organization.

Not long after Cline was released, he signed with Slippery Rock.

Cline is quite familiar with the area. A native of Union City, he pitched at Erie Cathedral Prep before heading to West Virginia University.

"It's like being home again," Cline said.

His ultimate goal, however, is to get back to an affiliated club.

"I'm 23 years old and I haven't had a full season under my belt. I've worked hard to get back. I want to give it another shot. I just have to hope somebody sees me."