July 5, 2011

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Baseball season is in full swing and UNCG currently has five players playing professional baseball around the world. Here is a report on how they have done this season for their various organizations.

Jermaine Mitchell – Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A)
Notes: A fifth-round selection in 2006, Jermaine Mitchell has spent the past five seasons trying to work his way up through the A's organization. Mitchell had a breakout season this year for the Midland RockHounds, the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, and was called up to the Tripla-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats this past week. Mitchell led the Double-A Texas League in batting average (.355), runs scored (67), hits (108), triples (13) and on-base percentage (.453). He was also second in the league in total bases (179) and walks (54), while also appearing in the top-5 in slugging percentage. Last Wednesday, he went 2-2 with a walk, triple and run scored to help the South All-Stars win the Texas League All-Star Game in San Antonio as he started in right field. He made his first appearance with Sacramento on Sunday and has gone 3-8 in his two games with the River Cats.

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
MID	TEX	.355	74	304	67	108	15	13	10	50	179	54	65	14	13	.453	.589	1.042
SAC	PCL	.375	2	8	2	3	0	0	0	1	3	3	1	4	0	.545	.375	.920
Minors		.356	76	312	69	111	15	13	10	51	182	57	66	18	13	.456	.583	1.039

Rob Gilliam – Stockton Ports (Class A – Advanced)
Notes: Rob Gilliam was an eighth-round selection by the Oakland Athletics in 2009 and was promoted to Stockton at the beginning after having an impressive year in 2010 for the Kane County Cougars, the Single-A affiliate. This season, Gilliam has a 9-4 record with a 4.55 ERA in 16 starts for the Ports. He has an impressive 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio after striking out 94 batters this year, which ranks third in his league. He has also given up just 23 walks in his 99 innings pitched, which is second in the California League.

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
STK	CAL	9	4	4.55	16	16	0	0	0	99.0	95	57	50	13	23	94	0.76	.253

Blake Hassebrock – Kane County Cougars (Single-A)
Notes: Blake Hassebrock was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the eighth round of the 2010 draft, similar to former teammate Gilliam a year prior. Hassebrock has been great for the Cougars as he currently sports a 1.89 ERA in 15 starts, although his record is only 4-4. His 1.89 ERA currently ranks him fourth in the Midwest League and his 72 strikeouts is tied for 18^th in the league.

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
BUR	MID	4	4	1.89	15	15	0	0	0	85.2	73	31	18	2	31	72	1.98	.225

Jarett Miller – Danville Braves (Rookie)
Notes: Jarett Miller was drafted on June 7 by the Atlanta Braves and signed a contract with the club and made his first appearance two weeks later. In four professional outings, Miller has a 1-0 record out of the bullpen with a 2.45 ERA. He has allowed just six hits and two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings of work, while striking out 13 batters and yielding just five walks. In his first two appearances, Miller struck out nine batters in just 4 2/3 innings and allowed only one hit.

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
DAN	APP	1	0	2.45	4	0	0	0	0	7.1	6	4	2	0	5	13	1.20	.200

Matt Gaski – Heidenheim Heidekopfe (Baseball Bungdesliga)
Notes: Matt Gaski was a 34^th round selection in 2008 by the San Diego Padres and has played for numerous professional organizations over the past three seasons. This season, Gaski has joined the Heidenheim Heidekopfe as the team's starting shortstop. Recently, Gaski helped lead his club to a third-place finish in the 2011 European Cup in Amsterdam. Statistics for Heidenheim were unavailable on the team's website.

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