RAPHAEL TURNER SIGNS WITH LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS
Lake Erie Crushers
Raphael Turner, who led the Highlanders in the triple crown categories in 2010, has signed a deal with the Lake Erie Crushers of the independent Frontier League.
After playing his first full season in his fifth year of eligibility, Turner led the team with a .351 batting average, 10 home runs and 51 RBIs in 52 games.
The Crushers, based in Avon, Ohio, are in third place (four games back) in the Frontier League’s East Division. The league takes its all-star break next week (July 12-15).
REGGIE KEEN HEATING UP IN HELENA
Reggie Keen's Player Page
Reggie Keen’s Helena Brewers (Rookie) are off to the Pioneer League’s best start at 10-5, and Keen has been a big reason for the early success.
Keen leads the Brewers with a .447 batting average (17-for-38) through his first 11 games, second in the Pioneer League. His 14 runs are second-best in the circuit, and his .488 on-base percentage and 1.146 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) are third.
After signing a free-agent deal with the Milwaukee organization just days before Helena was scheduled to begin its season, Keen scored the winning run in the Brewers’ opening day win over Missoula as a pinch-runner in the ninth. Hitting at the top of the order, Keen went 4-for-4 on June 27 in a 10-1 win over Great Falls.
ALEX GREGORY UPDATE
Alex Gregory's Player Page
Playing in his second professional season, Alex Gregory is with the Mets’ full-season Class A affiliate in Savannah, Ga.
In 45 games, Gregory is hitting .236 with 15 RBIs for the Sand Gnats of the South Atlantic League. Gregory, who spent 2009 with the short-season Brooklyn Cyclones, also made the transition back to first base (his position at Radford) from left field.
Gregory finished his Radford career with 38 homers, tied for the most in school history, while hitting .400 or better in three straight seasons, the first Radford and Big South conference player to accomplish the feat.