Five 2008 First-Round Draft Picks Headed to Hawaii Winter Baseball
Published on September 16, 2008 under Hawaii Winter Baseball 2 (HWB 2) News Release
Hawaii Winter Baseball returns for its eighth season later this month, and will feature the talents of five first-round selections from the 2008 draft. Of those five top-rated prospects, three were selected within the first ten picks of June's First-Year Player Draft.
The players, and their corresponding HWB assignments, include: Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants, No. 5 overall, catcher, Waikiki BeachBoys); Yonder Alonso (Cincinnati Reds, No. 7 overall, first base, Waikiki BeachBoys); Jason Castro (Houston Astros, No. 10 overall, catcher, North Shore Honu); Reese Havens (New York Mets, No. 22 overall, shortstop/outfield, Honolulu Sharks); and Jeremy Bleich (New York Yankees, No. 44 overall, left handed pitcher, Waikiki BeachBoys).
The league plans to release the complete set of rosters later this week as soon as they are approved by the participating leagues. Of the 30 Major League Baseball organizations, 23 are sending players to HWB. Six teams from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball organization will send players, as will the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization.
Posey, a highly-touted prospect from Florida State University, combined to hit .351 (13-for-37) with 10 runs, five doubles, one triple, one home run and six RBIs in 10 games between rookie-level Arizona and short-season Salem-Keizer shortly after being drafted. The backstop joined San Jose for their postseason run and finished 4-for-17 (.235) with two RBI in the North Division Series.
Alonso batted .370 with 24 home runs and 72 RBIs in his junior season at the University of Miami, and helped lead the Hurricanes to the College World Series. In his professional debut with the class-A advanced Sarasota Reds, Alonso went 6-for-19 (.316) with a double and two RBIs.
Castro's work behind and at the plate helped Stanford University reach the College World Series this season for the first time since 2003. Castro led the Cardinal with a .376 batting average and 73 RBIs to go along with 14 home runs while committing just two errors in 67 games. He made his professional debut with Houston's short-season Tri-City ValleyCats and hit .275 with nine doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs through 39 games.
Havens transitioned from the University of South Carolina to the Mets' short-season Brooklyn Cyclones despite nursing a wrist injury. The infielder hit .247 six doubles, two triples, three home runs and collected 11 RBIs through 23 games with Brooklyn.
Bleich was Stanford's ace heading into the season but the southpaw was only able to contribute 33 innings while battling an elbow strain. After signing his professional contract late, Bleich was able to get in three innings with the short-season Staten Island Yankees. In the start, the Louisiana native allowed two runs and racked up four strikeouts.
The HWB schedule features 81 games between the University of Hawaii's Les Murakami Stadium and Waipahu's Hans L'Orange Park. The league's schedule for its 2008 campaign runs from Saturday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 16 and includes 23 games at Murakami Stadium and 58 contests at Hans L'Orange.
Each of the league's four teams-the two-time defending champion North Shore Honu, West Oahu CaneFires, Waikiki BeachBoys and Honolulu Sharks-is scheduled to play 40 games. The champion from both the HWB West (Honu and CaneFires) and HWB East (BeachBoys and Sharks) will meet on Nov. 16 at Murakami Stadium to decide the overall league championship.
General admission ticket prices range from $3 (children ages 4-12) to $6 (adults) at both stadiums, and season ticket, group and fundraiser packages are also available. There are also stadium-specific season ticket packages available.
For more information on the league and ticket inquiries, call 973-RBIS (7247). Also, log on to www.HawaiiWinterBaseball.com for more information, player and league news, and to shop for authentic HWB merchandise.
Hawaii Winter Baseball is an organized professional baseball league sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB). It provides a setting for top young professional ball players to play against top-notch U.S. and international competition to accelerate U.S. player progress through their respective major league farm systems, and to give top young Asian players opportunities for international competition.
Some distinguished HWB alumni include: Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (Hilo Stars, 1993); the Yankees' Jason Giambi (Kauai Emeralds, 1993) and Joba Chamberlain (West Oahu, 2006); the Cubs' Derrek Lee (Maui Stingrays, 1993); and Colorado's Todd Helton (Stingrays, 1995). Stay tuned for upcoming community events, clinics and festivities...Catch the Dream!
Hawaii Winter Baseball 2 Stories from September 16, 2008
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
