Cougars Get Top Draft Pick Travis Buck from Vancouver; Shin Injury Puts Out Blasi

August 2, 2005 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Kane County Cougars News Release

GENEVA, IL - The Kane County Cougars, in conjunction with the Oakland Athletics, announced today that supplemental first-round pick Travis Buck will join the Cougars this evening in Peoria, Illinois as the team faces Kerry Wood and the Chiefs at O'Brien Field at 7:00 p.m. Vacating a spot in the outfield, Nick Blasi lands on the disabled list with a left shin contusion. The Cougars play a short-two game stint down south with the Chiefs before both squads travel north on Thursday, August 4 to battle it out in another two-game set in Geneva at Elfstrom Stadium.

Wrapping up a strong college career at Arizona State University this past spring, the Oakland A's nabbed star outfielder Travis Buck this past June in the supplemental round, sending him to Vancouver to make his professional start. Appearing in nine games for the Canadians, Buck pounded out a .361 average with nine RBI and two home runs. In his final season of collegiate play, the former Sun Devil hit .382 while collecting 43 RBI, six home runs and 24 doubles, earning him Pac-10 Baseball Player of the Week honors for the week of February 22 - 28. The outfielder's 110 hits on the season also rank him ninth in Sun Devil record books for single-season hits. Following the Sun Devils third place finish in this year's College World Series, Buck joined three teammates on the 2005 College World Series All-Tournament team. In three seasons of collegiate play, Buck was a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection and was also named a second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

Outfielder Nick Blasi ends up on the disabled list after appearing in 100 games for the Cougars this season. A Wichita, Kansas native, Blasi is currently posting a .258 average with 44 RBI and three home runs. The Wichita State University graduate joined the A's organization in 2004, as he was selected in the 12th round of that year's June draft. Oakland sent Blasi to Vancouver (Short-A, Northwest) to make his professional debut where he hit .299 while knocking in 26 fellow Canadians.

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