Panthers in the Pros (player & team links)
CHARLESTON, Ill. – A number of Minor League Baseball postseason series get underway over the first two weeks of September and Eastern Illinois baseball alumni
Tyler Kehrer,
Jordan Kreke and
Kyle Haines are all members of teams that will continue their seasons this month.
Kehrer and Kreke were two of the three Panthers selected in June’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Haines finished up his EIU career in 2004 and was selected in the draft that summer.
Pitching for the Orem Owlz, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s affiliate in the Pioneer League, Kehrer leads the team with 51 strikeouts in 48 innings. He also ranks among the Top 10 in the Pioneer League. With a 24-4 record, the Owlz are running away with the South Division second-half title. The Pioneer League playoffs are set for the week of Sept. 13-19.
Kehrer has compiled a 3-2 record and 3.94 ERA since joining the Owlz. He has pitched especially well in his last two starts, working at least six innings and giving up no more than one earned run. His six innings of two-hit ball, in which he struck out six, in an Aug. 22 no-decision against the Helena Brewers was one of his best outings of the summer.
Kreke’s Danville Braves team, Atlanta’s affiliate in the Appalachian League, won the East Division title with an impressive 47-21 record. He has been starting at third base for the majority of the summer and is batting .271 with 13 extra-base hits, 23 walks and 35 runs scored.
Danville’s 47 victories were tops in the 10-team Appalachian League, clinching home field advantage in the league’s three-game championship series. The Braves take on the Elizabethton Twins for the Appalachian League title, with the series opening Wednesday (Sept. 2).
After playing for the Kinston Indians in August, Haines has returned to the Akron Aeros for the Eastern League playoffs. The Cleveland Indians’ Double-A affiliate clinched the Southern Division title and open postseason play Sept. 9. The divisional round and Eastern League Championship Series both feature best-of-five formats.
Haines spent much of his first stint with Akron serving as a reserve middle infielder, signing with the Indians’ organization in early June. He was assigned to the Kinston Indians (of the Carolina League) in late July before getting recalled on Aug. 29.
While postseason series are unlikely for their teams,
Brett Nommensen and
Erik Huber are also wrapping up their Minor League seasons.
Nommensen is closing out his first year of pro ball with the Hudson Valley Renegades, the Tampa Bay Rays’ affiliate in the New York-Penn League. He has been swinging a hot bat as of late, batting .359 (14-for-39) over his last 10 games. He went 4-for-5 with three RBIs in an Aug. 24 victory against the Tri-City ValleyCats (Houston Astros affiliate). Tuesday (Sept. 1), he tripled twice in a win at the Oneonta Tigers.
For the summer, Nommensen is batting .261 with nine extra-base hits, 26 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Hudson Valley closes out its season over Labor Day Weekend.
The highlight of Huber’s summer was a July promotion to the High-A Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League. The 2007 EIU grad is in his third season of pro ball in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system.
Following a hot start with his new team, which included a six-hit game, Huber battled an August slump. Despite suffering through a 4-for-35 stretch, he has been putting the ball in play, striking out only three times in his last 10 games.
For the summer, Huber is batting .302 with 33 extra-base hits, 48 RBIs and 53 runs scored in 100 games. Those cumulative stats include his numbers with the West Virginia Power from the first-half of the Minor League season.