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Hicks, Rowe, Rodriguez head
By ROBERT AVERY
ravery@hcnonline.com
Three minor league baseball players with Pasadena-area ties are headed for the playoffs that start tonight.
The three who will be continuing their minor league season into the playoffs are Brandon Hicks of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Josh Rodriguez of the Akron Aeros and Steve Rowe of the Oklahoma RedHawks.
BRANDON HICKS
Hicks, a 2004 Sam Rayburn High School graduate who earned Second Team All-District honors his senior year, will help the Pelicans open a best-of-three Carolina League playoff series against the Winston-Salem Warthogs tonight.
Hicks split the month of August between the Double A Mississippi Braves and the advanced Class A Myrtle Beach ballclub, both Atlanta Braves farm clubs. After getting the call up on July 31 to fill in for an injured player, Hicks was reassigned back to Myrtle Beach on Aug. 17, the team he began the season with in April.
Since his return to the Pelicans, Hicks has belted his 18th and 19th home runs of the season. With Hicks’ help, Myrtle Beach has shattered the franchise record for home runs in a single season with 152. The old record was 105 set in 1999. Hicks is one of eight Pelicans to hit ten or more home runs this season, shattering yet another franchise record of five players clouting ten or more home runs in a season.
The power show was one reason Myrtle Beach captured the Southern Division championship in both the first and second half.
Hicks is hitting .234 this season with 56 RBIs, 80 hits and 68 runs over 93 games. Since returning to Myrtle Beach on Aug 17, Hicks is 7-of-28 for a .250 batting average. During his abbreviated 16-game stay in Double A, Hicks hit .241 with 13 hits in 54 at-bats.
Shortly after his return to the Carolina League, Hicks received his second honor of the 2008 season when he was named to the Carolina League Postseason All-Star Team, one of only 17 players to earn the honor. But of the 17, Hicks was one of five Pelicans on the list.
STEVE ROWE
Steve Rowe and the Oklahoma RedHawks, the Texas Rangers’ triple A farm club, are headed to the playoffs that also start tonight.
Rowe, who played Little League baseball in town at Pasadena National as well as his teenage ball here, finished the regular season with a 4-5 record on the mound and a 4.59 ERA. He made appearances in 27 games, working 78.2 innings.
Rowe surrendered 41 earned runs, 99 hits, 54 runs, 35 walks and 48 strikeouts.
The RedHawks will play the Iowa Cubs in a best-of-5 series. The winner will meet Salt Lake or Sacramento for the Pacific Coast League championship.
JOSH RODRIGUEZ
Josh Rodriguez and the Akron Aeros, the Cleveland Indians Double A farm club, have clinched the wild-card berth in the Southern Division.
Rodriguez, South Houston High School’s all-district player, finished the regular season hitting .241 over 137 games. He had 128 hits over 532 at-bats. He heads into the postseason with 49 RBIs, 77 walks and seven home runs. He led the team in triples with 10 and stolen bases with 12.
ALSO in the MINORS…
Considering the final record of the Rome (Ga.) Braves, Deer Park High School product Benino Pruneda had a very good season in his first full year in the minors.
Rome finished in last place of the Southern Division to the South Atlantic League with a 56-81 record. But Pruneda finished with a 4-4 record and 2.83 ERA.
His ERA was the lowest among Rome pitchers with 57 innings or more of work. He also collected three saves. Over 41 games and 57 innings of work, Pruneda issued 18 earned runs, 53 hits, 23 walks and 73 strikeouts. His 57 innings was the ninth-highest number of innings worked for a Rome pitcher.
Jonathan Runnels and the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League close out their short season this week. Runnels, a 2004 Sam Rayburn High School all-district player, may be finishing with an unblemished record on the mound.
Runnels is 3-0 with a 6.52 ERA. In 15 games and 29 innings, Runnels has surrendered 40 hits, 21 earned runs, five home runs and 15 walks.
Runnels worked on Labor Day, going an inning in which he surrendered three hits, one run, one earned run, a walk and a strikeout to the Orem Owlz who won 13-4. Orem captured the regular season championship to the Pioneer League South Division with the victory. Ogden owns the second-best record at 21-12 as the two teams complete their season-ending series this week.
Three minor league baseball players with Pasadena-area ties are headed for the playoffs that start tonight.
The three who will be continuing their minor league season into the playoffs are Brandon Hicks of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Josh Rodriguez of the Akron Aeros and Steve Rowe of the Oklahoma RedHawks.
BRANDON HICKS
Hicks, a 2004 Sam Rayburn High School graduate who earned Second Team All-District honors his senior year, will help the Pelicans open a best-of-three Carolina League playoff series against the Winston-Salem Warthogs tonight.
Hicks split the month of August between the Double A Mississippi Braves and the advanced Class A Myrtle Beach ballclub, both Atlanta Braves farm clubs. After getting the call up on July 31 to fill in for an injured player, Hicks was reassigned back to Myrtle Beach on Aug. 17, the team he began the season with in April.
Since his return to the Pelicans, Hicks has belted his 18th and 19th home runs of the season. With Hicks’ help, Myrtle Beach has shattered the franchise record for home runs in a single season with 152. The old record was 105 set in 1999. Hicks is one of eight Pelicans to hit ten or more home runs this season, shattering yet another franchise record of five players clouting ten or more home runs in a season.
The power show was one reason Myrtle Beach captured the Southern Division championship in both the first and second half.
Hicks is hitting .234 this season with 56 RBIs, 80 hits and 68 runs over 93 games. Since returning to Myrtle Beach on Aug 17, Hicks is 7-of-28 for a .250 batting average. During his abbreviated 16-game stay in Double A, Hicks hit .241 with 13 hits in 54 at-bats.
Shortly after his return to the Carolina League, Hicks received his second honor of the 2008 season when he was named to the Carolina League Postseason All-Star Team, one of only 17 players to earn the honor. But of the 17, Hicks was one of five Pelicans on the list.
STEVE ROWE
Steve Rowe and the Oklahoma RedHawks, the Texas Rangers’ triple A farm club, are headed to the playoffs that also start tonight.
Rowe, who played Little League baseball in town at Pasadena National as well as his teenage ball here, finished the regular season with a 4-5 record on the mound and a 4.59 ERA. He made appearances in 27 games, working 78.2 innings.
Rowe surrendered 41 earned runs, 99 hits, 54 runs, 35 walks and 48 strikeouts.
The RedHawks will play the Iowa Cubs in a best-of-5 series. The winner will meet Salt Lake or Sacramento for the Pacific Coast League championship.
JOSH RODRIGUEZ
Josh Rodriguez and the Akron Aeros, the Cleveland Indians Double A farm club, have clinched the wild-card berth in the Southern Division.
Rodriguez, South Houston High School’s all-district player, finished the regular season hitting .241 over 137 games. He had 128 hits over 532 at-bats. He heads into the postseason with 49 RBIs, 77 walks and seven home runs. He led the team in triples with 10 and stolen bases with 12.
ALSO in the MINORS…
Considering the final record of the Rome (Ga.) Braves, Deer Park High School product Benino Pruneda had a very good season in his first full year in the minors.
Rome finished in last place of the Southern Division to the South Atlantic League with a 56-81 record. But Pruneda finished with a 4-4 record and 2.83 ERA.
His ERA was the lowest among Rome pitchers with 57 innings or more of work. He also collected three saves. Over 41 games and 57 innings of work, Pruneda issued 18 earned runs, 53 hits, 23 walks and 73 strikeouts. His 57 innings was the ninth-highest number of innings worked for a Rome pitcher.
Jonathan Runnels and the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League close out their short season this week. Runnels, a 2004 Sam Rayburn High School all-district player, may be finishing with an unblemished record on the mound.
Runnels is 3-0 with a 6.52 ERA. In 15 games and 29 innings, Runnels has surrendered 40 hits, 21 earned runs, five home runs and 15 walks.
Runnels worked on Labor Day, going an inning in which he surrendered three hits, one run, one earned run, a walk and a strikeout to the Orem Owlz who won 13-4. Orem captured the regular season championship to the Pioneer League South Division with the victory. Ogden owns the second-best record at 21-12 as the two teams complete their season-ending series this week.
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