Meanwhile, six other TC products and Temple High School graduate Ronnie Gaines are striving to go from where they are - baseball’s minor leagues - to where Logan is, the majors.
Within the last month, three former TC standouts signed contracts and began their professional careers: Belton High School graduate Brian Ruggiano with the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitcher Daniel Meadows with the Milwaukee Brewers and Tommy Rafferty with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The fellow TC exes they joined in the minors are pitcher Corey Frerichs with the Brewers, outfielder Matt Miller with the Colorado Rockies and first baseman David Wood with the Kansas City Royals.
And in May, Gaines, a 2002 Temple graduate, made his pro debut with the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators, a Class A club of the White Sox.
With the baseball season now past the halfway point, here’s an update on how the aforementioned eight players are faring.
- The good news for outfielder Gaines is that he got his pro career off to a blazing start, hitting a home run in his first game with Kannapolis.
In fact, he homered in three of his first four games after being activated from extended spring training.
The bad news is that Gaines, who was hitting .381 with eight runs batted in through six games, suffered an undisclosed injury and has been on the disabled list since May 16.
Gaines, 24, who played two years at McLennan Community College and two at Angelo State, signed a free-agent contract with the White Sox last November. He was the 2007 United Baseball League Rookie of the Year after hitting .334 for the San Angelo Colts.
- After struggling in his first year with the White Sox and experiencing mixed results in his second, left-handed reliever Logan has discovered his groove in his third season for first-place Chicago.
Logan, 23, who pitched for coach Craig McMurtry at TC in 2003, has a 2-1 record and a 2.10 earned-run average in 34 games. He has allowed 26 hits in 30 innings, striking out 30 batters and walking only seven.
- Ruggiano, the 2004 Belton grad who starred for TC’s Junior College World Series squad in 2006, has gotten off to a rough start as a second baseman with the Dodgers’ rookie-level Ogden (Utah) Raptors.
Through 15 games, Ruggiano is batting .153 (9-for-59) with a homer, five RBI and 19 strikeouts. His highlight was a four-RBI game against Idaho Falls on June 29.
Ruggiano, 22, was a 23rd-round draft pick a month ago after two solid seasons at Texas A&M, where he could have returned for his senior year. His older brother, Justin, who has had two major league stints with the Rays this year, also played two years at A&M and was a Dodgers draft pick.
- Meadows was thought to be on his way to Texas Tech after the Brewers selected him in the 49th (next-to-last) round of the June draft. However, the Leopards’ big left-hander took his shot and turned pro.
A mainstay for TC the last two years, Meadows, 20, has appeared in three games for the Brewers’ rookie-level Arizona League team and has not permitted an earned run. He’s 0-1 and has allowed five hits in eight innings.
- Last year, Miller - a slugging outfielder for TC from 2002-03 - had a lackluster season for the Tulsa Drillers, the Rockies’ club in the Double-A Texas League. He hit .262 with 11 homers and 61 RBI.
But what Miller has done this season with the Drillers surely has caught the attention of his opponents and the Rockies. Through 84 games, he’s hitting .347 (111 hits) with eight homers and 65 RBI - complemented by a .404 on-base percentage - to become a Texas League All-Star.
- Another member of the Leopards’ 2006 Junior College World Series team, Frerichs is making his case to move up quickly through the Brewers’ system.
Pitching for the West Virginia Power of the Class A South Atlantic League, 22-year-old right-hander Frerichs has struck out 60 batters in 46 innings, allowing just 35 hits. He’s 3-6 with six saves and a 2.54 ERA in 23 games.
It’s been a big improvement from last year for Frerichs, who had a 6.26 ERA at rookie-level Helena even though his record was 4-1.
- Wood, a star first baseman and pitcher for TC in 2005 before two seasons at Texas State, had a promising rookie season last year. He hit .318 in 54 games for the Royals’ rookie-level team in Arizona.
However, a promotion to Class A this year did not go smoothly. Playing for the Wilmington (N.C.) Blue Rocks of the Carolina League, Wood batted only .156 in 37 games before he was reassigned to the Burlington (N.C.) Royals of the rookie-level Appalachian League. Wood has hit .200 with a homer and two RBI in five games with Burlington.
- Rafferty was a solid pitcher and outfielder at TC in 2004 and 2005 but certainly not a star. He made big strides after leaving the Leopards, pitching one year at Angelo State before transferring to Arizona State and going 12-0 in relief for the Sun Devils.
Taken by Tampa Bay in the 28th round last month, right-hander Rafferty is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings for the Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Renegades of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
