Catching Up With 'Jacks In The Pros
9/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 5, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Since bringing baseball back in 2006 the Lumberjacks have had seven players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, the second-most of any school in the Southland Conference. Steven Hill was the highest of those selections, going in the 13th round to the St. Louis Cardinals after his All-American season in 2007, but he is not the only former Lumberjack making noise at the next level.
Here is an update on the current `Jacks in the pros:
Steven Hill (St. Louis Cardinals) - After dominating in his short stint with a wood bat after being drafted in 2007, Hill started off the season at High-A Palm Beach of the Gulf Coast League before moving up to Double-A Springfield of the Texas League midway through the season. He hit a home run in his first game for Springfield and hit .303 with five home runs in 26 games before being sidelined with a broken hand. For the season he finished with a .285 batting average, 17 home runs and 48 RBI in 76 games between Double-A, Single-A and Rookie ball. Hill's Pro Stats
Kevin Thomas (St. Louis Cardinals) - Thomas finished off the 2008 season as SFA's hottest pitcher, going 4-0 with a complete game and a 2.01 ERA in his final four appearances, including a complete game win over Texas-Arlington. He parlayed that into becoming a 33rd-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in the June MLB Draft and quickly found his niche with the club's Rookie League affiliate, the Johnson City Cardinals. He made 10 starts for the Cardinals, including four starts, posting a 2.65 ERA with 27 strikeouts to only eight walks. His best appearance came in a five-inning start against Princeton where he allowed only one hit in his five frames, fanning seven while walking none. One of his strikeout victims in that game was the 2008 No. 1 overall pick, Tim Beckham. Thomas' Pro Stats
Brian Steinocher (Boston Red Sox) - Steinocher, who threw out the very first pitch when SFA brought back baseball in 2006, made 16 appearances for the Lancaster Jethawks of the hitter-friendly California League this season. He was much better as a reliever than a starter, posting a 3.70 ERA while holding hitters to a .218 average out of the bullpen. Steinocher bettered those marks again when he faced right-handers, holding righties to a .194 average for the year, helping the Jethawks reach the Cal League playoffs. Steinocher's Pro Stats
David Miller (Houston Astros) - At 6-10, the lanky Miller became a specialist against right-handed hitters for the Tri-City Valley Cats of the New York Penn League. Overall, he posted a 3-2 record with a 3.51 ERA in 18 games exclusively out of the bullpen; however, 32.1 of his 41.0 innings on the year came against right-handed hitters where he excelled. Miller held righties at bay to the tune of a .177 batting average for the season, posting a 1.95 ERA against them. Miller's Pro Stats
Jacob Leonhardt (Houston Astros) - The hard-throwing right-hander made 30 appearances for the Class A Lexington Legends, getting the start in 20 games. He struck out 69 batters in 123 innings on the year, and finished off the year with a 4.50 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 26.0 innings over his final five appearances. Leonhardt's Pro Stats
-SFA-
