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Through Monday, Arizona Diamondbacks Double-A third baseman Chad Tracy was the only minor leaguer still
over .400 (.401) while playing for El Paso in the Double-A Texas
League.
The last minor leaguer to hit .400 for an entire season?
Erubiel Durazo, who accomplished the feat back in 1999 when he
hit .404 between Double-A and Triple-A. The club with which Durazo
began his season? El Paso, of course.
While the Diablos play their home games in one of the best
hitters' parks in baseball, both Durazo and Tracy fared better
on the road than they did at home. Durazo batted .356 at home
versus a blistering .454 on the road. Tracy is a .392 hitter at
home, .418 on the road.
While neither Tracy nor Durazo hit as well on the road as they
did at home, it is no coincidence that both players put up such
phenomenal offensive numbers while playing for the El Paso club.
Below is a list of the top five full-season batting averages in
the minor leagues since 1980:
Erubiel Durazo: El Paso/Tucson -- Texas/Pacific Coast -- 1999 -- .404
Lavell Freeman: El Paso -- Texas -- 1987 -- .395
Mike Kinkade: El Paso -- Texas -- 1997 -- .385
Kent Hrbek: Visalia -- California -- 1981 -- .379
Christopher Smith: Phoenix -- PCL -- 1983 -- .379
Diamondbacks officials maintain that Tracy, who was playing
college baseball at this time a year ago, is still a year away
from the radar screen in Arizona. But, the 21-year-old Tracy is
certainly making his case to be moving west a lot sooner than
that, especially with Arizona's lack of depth at the hot corner
both in the big leagues and in the minors.
Team notes
Chicago White Sox: The low Class A South Atlantic League is a breeding ground for
rising pitching stars such as Gavin Floyd (Phillies), Manny
Santillan (Astros), J.D. Martin (Indians), Francisco Cruceta
(Dodgers) and others. Count White Sox prospect Kris Honel right
in that mix. A Chicago-area native who was picked by the White
Sox with the 16th overall pick in last June's draft, Honel threw
seven scoreless innings to help the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators beat Lexington,
1-0, on Sunday. The 19-year-old right-hander, who has yielded
four hits or less in five of his last six starts, is 4-0 with a
1.18 ERA over his last six outings and has not allowed more than
one run in any start.
Kansas City Royals: Ken Harvey batted .350 last season between Class A and Double-A,
compiling the minors' fourth-highest average in 2001, and
finished his season in the big leagues. This year has been a
different story altogether for the Royals Triple-A
first baseman, who is hitting just .265 with a paltry .296
on-base percentage in his first 39 games. The 24-year-old
Harvey, who went to the University of Nebraska on a $500
scholarship and turned into an NCAA batting champion, had flown
through the system despite being hindered by foot injuries.
Harvey, who has limited mobility around the first-base bag, is
limited defensively and will have his success determined solely
by what he does with the bat.
Oakland Athletics: It has been a tough season for the A's, both in the big
leagues and down below. But, there was a bright spot with the
recent promotion of left-hander John Rheinecker from Class A
Visalia to Double-A Midland. Rheinecker, a supplemental
first-rounder from last June's draft (for losing right-hander
Kevin Appier to the Mets), had gone 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in Class
A ball. The 22-year-old, who went undrafted after his junior
season at Southwest Missouri State but jumped onto draft boards
by developing a potent slider last spring, pitched eight shutout
innings in his first Double-A start on Monday. Once Mark Prior makes his big-league debut for the Cubs on
Wednesday, Rheinecker's 69 strikeouts will be tops among all
minor-league pitchers.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: After Seth McClung's first crack at pro ball back in the summer
of 1999 (2-4, 7.69 ERA in rookie ball), few could have imagined
the success the now 21-year-old Devil Rays Double-A right-hander would be having. The hard-throwing McClung, who
closed last season by not allowing an earned run over his final
32 1/3 innings in low Class A ball, fanned 48 batters in 37
innings in high Class A ball and was promoted to Double-A
Orlando, where he has tossed 11 straight scoreless innings over
two starts. McClung, a fifth-rounder from the 1999 draft, is
brash on the mound and can get his fastball into the mid-90s.
Houston Astros: When the Astros drafted Chris Burke out of the
University of Tennessee with the 10th overall selection in last
June's draft, they probably did not expect a debut like this in
Burke's first full season as a pro. The now 22-year-old, who
batted an even .300 with 21 steals in 56 games at the low Class
A level after signing last June, was hitting just .267 with a
.335 on-base percentage for Double-A Round Rock. He has been
hitting in the ninth slot for most of the season and is just
2-for-24 with nine strikeouts when serving as the team's leadoff
hitter. Burke, who broke many of Todd Helton's records as a
collegian, has been compared favorably with Craig Biggio and
Derek Jeter for his leadership qualities and aptitude for the
game.
St. Louis Cardinals: Double-A right-hander Jimmy Journell is back
for good, after he fanned a career-high 12 batters over
seven-plus innings in New Haven's 3-2 victory over Erie on
Monday. Journell, a fourth-round selection in the 1999 draft
who missed the season's first month after undergoing surgery to remove bone
chips from his elbow, has posted a 1.82 ERA along with 31
strikeouts over 24 2/3 innings thus far. In his first-ever
Double-A start, Journell tossed a no-hitter for New Haven last season.
San Francisco Giants: The Giants are doing everything possible to speed
up the progress of those prospects who may contribute at the big-league level, and Todd Linden fits that description. Linden, a
supplemental first-rounder in last June's draft out of LSU,
started his professional career in Double-A. That's quite a
jump, considering that most players -- even those who played at
top colleges -- begin in Class A ball. But, Linden has been
nothing short of terrific thus far for Shreveport in the Texas
League. The 21-year-old is tied for fifth among all minor
leagues with a .380 average and ranks among the league leaders
in several offensive categories. Linden has terrific speed (8
SB, 1 CS) and gets on base, as evidenced by his league-high .457
on-base percentage.
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