Brent Butler (28) of Laurinburg, NC., was the epitome of an utility player in August for the Durham Bulls. Butler appeared in the lineup in five different positions; SS, 2B, RF, LF and DH. Butler proved it didn't matter where he played, as he hit International League pitchers at a .364 clip with 13 runs, five doubles, three triples and 12 RBIs. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed Butler as a free agent in November, 2004. St. Louis had originally drafted Butler in the third round in 1996.
J.R. House (26) of Ormond Beach, Fla., and Terrmel Sledge (29) of Valencia, Calif., share Pacific Coast League honors for the month. House, playing mainly first base for the Round Rock Express, hit .417 with 20 runs, a dozen doubles, four homers and his 29 RBIs tied Sledge and another player for best in the league. Sledge, a Portland Beavers outfielder, put together a 19-game hitting streak in August in which he hit .389 with 25 runs, five doubles, five triples and eleven homers. The Houston Astros signed House as a free agent in January. Pittsburgh originally picked House in the fifth round of the 1999 draft. The San Diego Padres acquired Sledge in a trade with Texas in January. Seattle originally drafted Sledge three rounds after House.
Gary Burnham (31) of South Windsor, Conn., made his fourth tour with the Reading Phillies a memorable one. The 1B/OF, who played for Reading from 1999-2001, broke the franchise record for homers when he hit his 54th homer in a Reading uniform on August 19. But he did much more to win Eastern League honors. Burnham hit .406 with 18 runs, two doubles, ten round-trippers and 19 RBIs in 20 August games before the Philadelphia Phillies promoted him to Triple-A. Philadelphia originally selected Burnham in the 22nd round in 1997 and resigned him as a free agent in May.
Jamie D'Antona (24) of Trumball, Conn., ended July with three straight two-hit games and didn't slow down until he claimed the Southern League award for August. The Tennessee Smokies first baseman had multiple hit games in nine of his first eleven August contests and 16 overall for the month. He hit a league-best .372 with 17 runs, six doubles, three homers and 17 RBIs. The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him out of Wake Forest University in the 2nd round of the 2003 draft.
Alex Gordon (22) of Lincoln, Neb., won Texas League honors for July and wasn't in any hurry to give up the award. The Wichita Wranglers third baseman hit .355 with 24 runs scored, seven doubles and a league-best ten homers and 31 RBI last month. Gordon had twelve multiple hit games in August and four 4-RBI games. The Kansas City Royals selected Gordon with the second overall pick in 2005 out of the U. of Nebraska.
Luis Perez (23) of Los Teques, Venezuela, hit in six of his first nine August games, going hitless on August 12. The Stockton Ports outfielder then rattled off not only an 18-game hit streak to win California League honors, but a 22-gamer to end the regular season. Perez hit .450 for August with 19 runs, nine doubles, two triples, a pair of home runs and 23 RBIs. In a four game stretch from August 18-21, he was 13-for-15. The Oakland Athletics signed Perez as a free agent in November, 1999.
Jordan Brown (22) of Vacaville, Calif., hit in 22 of his 26 August games for the Kinston Indians on his way to winning the Carolina League award. The left fielder hit .347 with 18 runs, five doubles, two triples, five homers and a league-best 26 RBIs. He also finished the season leading the circuit in RBIs with 87. Brown put together hit streaks of eleven and eight games in August. The Cleveland Indians drafted Brown in the 4th round out of the University of Arizona in 2005.
Brock Peterson (22) of Chehalis, Wash., was among the leaders in several categories in the Florida State League. He led the league in August in RBIs with 25 and in total bases with 67. Peterson's seven homers were tied for second best and his .349 average for the month was fourth. The Ft. Myers Miracle first baseman added 18 runs, eight doubles and eleven multi-hit games to his impressive month. The Minnesota Twins selected Peterson in the 49th round out of W.F. West (WA) High School in 2002.
Yohan Pino (22) of Aragua, Venezuela, was a perfect 4-0 for the Beloit Snappers in the Midwest League. The right-hander sported a 2.70 ERA. He allowed 28 hits in 30 innings, walked just four, and fanned 26. The Minnesota Twins inked Pino as a free agent in May, 2004.
Mike Spidale (24) of Broadview, Ill., just torched South Atlantic League pitchers, hitting a whopping .398 with 13 RBIs. The Lakewood BlueClaws center-fielder began August with an eleven game hit streak and ended it with a nine game one. Spidale put together 15 multi-hit games, including seven in a row from August 22-29. He also stole 13 bases. The Philadelphia Phillies signed Spidale as a free agent in June. The Chicago White Sox originally drafted him in the 12th round in 2000.
Jordan Parraz (21) of Henderson, Nev., did it all for the Tri-City ValleyCats in August. The NY-Penn League right fielder hit .348 with 15 runs, six doubles, three homers, 18 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He had hit streaks of ten and 12 games. The Houston Astros picked him out of CC of Southern Nevada in the 3rd round in 2004.
Cyle Hankerd (21) of Covina, Calif., is making the transition from college to the Minors look easy. After being drafted in the third round this June out of the University of Southern California by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Hankerd hit .311 his first month, .353 in July and then .519 in 13 August games for the Yakima Bears. The left-fielder hit in all 13 games, nine of which were multiple hit contests. Hankerd scored seven runs, smacked five doubles, two homers and plated 12 before Arizona decided it was time to promote him from the Northwest League to Lancaster in the California League.
Travis Snider (18) of Mill Creek, Wash., proved he was worthy of his high draft pick status by hitting .377 for the Pulaski Blue Jays. In 20 Appalachian League games, the right fielder had seven multi-hit contests, including two four-hit ones. His six homers tied for the league lead for the month. Snider scored 17 runs and had six doubles, a triple and 17 RBIs. The Toronto Blue Jays selected Snider with the 14th overall pick in this year's June Draft out of Jackson (WA) High School.
Chris Valaika (21) of Valencia, Calif., is another player making the transition to the professional ranks look seemless. All the Billings Mustangs shortstop did was hit in a Minor League-best 32 straight games, including 23 in a row in August. The streak was not just tops in the Minors this season, but it also broke the Pioneer League mark. Valaika hit .369 for the month with 22 runs, ten doubles, three triples, three homers and 28 RBIs. The Cincinnati Reds tabbed Valaika in the 3rd round out of UC Santa Barbara this June.
Cedric Hunter (18) of Decatur, Ga., tried to keep pace with Valaika, taking a ten game hit streak into August. The Peoria Padres center fielder safely hit in his first 13 games last month, before seeing it end. Hunter batted .422 for August with a homer, 19 RBIs and ten stolen bases in the Arizona League. He crossed the plate 16 times and had three doubles and two triples. The San Diego Padres, who drafted Hunter out of King (GA) High School in the 3rd round in June, promoted him to the Northwest League in September.
Michael Jones (21) of Moreno Valley, Calif., began and ended 2005 with the Red Sox in the Gulf Coast League. He didn't end this season the same way. Jones hit .340 in 13 August games with a league-leading six round-trippers and 20 RBIs. In his last nine games for the GCL Red Sox, the first baseman had five multi-hit games, a pair of two-homer games and 18 RBIs. That prompted the Boston Red Sox, who signed Jones as a free agent in May, 2005, to send him up to Lowell in the NY-Penn League.
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