Eaton to Become 39th Osprey to Make MLB Debut Tuesday
Published on September 4, 2012 under Pioneer League (PL)
Missoula PaddleHeads News Release
MISSOULA, MONT. - Adam Eaton started the 2012 season in Mobile and off to a slow start. He thought he was going to end it with a playoff run in Reno, as well as celebrating winning the Pacific Coast League's batting title, Rookie of the Year and MVP awards.
Instead, the former Missoula Osprey outfielder - who also won the 2010 Pioneer Baseball League batting title - has received the call to join the Arizona Diamondbacks, becoming the third former Osprey to make his debut on a Major League Baseball roster this season, and the 39th former Osprey to achieve the feat.
Eaton will make his debut tonight in San Francisco against the Giants, getting the start in center field and batting leadoff. Eaton will be one of three former Osprey to be in the lineup tonight, joining first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (2009) and catcher Miguel Montero (2002-03).
Eaton was placed in the leadoff spot after his promotion from Mobile - where he hit .300 for the first month of the season - and treated Pacific Coast League pitching much like he did in his days of the Pioneer League. The left-handed hitting outfielder hit .381 to win the batting title by 30 points over teammate Ryan Wheeler, while also leading the league in hits, doubles, stolen bases, on-base percentage, times hit by pitch, total bases and runs scored, while finishing second in extra-base hits.
The 23-year-old Eaton - who was hitting just .217 six games into the season - bounced back from the slow start nicely, hitting .375 with 47 doubles, five triples, seven home runs, 48 RBI, 130 runs scored and 44 stolen bases in 130 combined games with Double-A Mobile and Reno in 2012. He joins Salt Lake's Robb Quinlan (2002) as the only players in the league's history to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in a single season.
Eaton ranked among all full-season Minor Leaguers in average (1st), hits (1st), doubles (1st), runs scored (1st) on-base percentage (2nd, .456), OPS (8th, .978) and total bases (8th, 276). He also reached base safely in 41 straight games from May 14-June 27, the third-longest streak in Triple-A this season.
Eaton is a career .355 hitter with 83 doubles, 16 triples, 24 home runs, 15 RBI and 98 stolen bases in 319 games over three Minor League seasons in the D-backs organization. Eaton was named to the PCL Mid-Season All-Star Team and All-PCL Team in 2012, California League Mid-Season All-Star Team in 2011, as well as the Topps' Short-Season/Rookie All-Star Team and Pioneer League All-Star Team while in Missoula in 2010.
Eaton, who was selected by Arizona in the 19th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, hit .385 for the Osprey in 2010, setting a new Osprey standard and becoming the first Osprey player since Jesus Cota in 2001 to win a PBL batting title. He also holds the team mark in on-base percentage, becoming the first (and to date only) Osprey player to finish with a .500 on-base percentage. Eaton also had a .575 slugging percentage, and is second only to Cota (1.101) in OPS for a single season (1.075).
The Osprey will come home for their final two games of the 2012 regular season against the Billings Mustangs on September 5-6. Tickets are available now at the MSO Hub Box Office, located at 140 North Higgins in Downtown Missoula, online at MissoulaOsprey.com and by phone (406) 543-3300.
Pioneer League Stories from September 4, 2012
- Sports Equipment Drive at Melaleuca - Idaho Falls Chukars
- Eaton to Become 39th Osprey to Make MLB Debut Tuesday - Missoula PaddleHeads
- Voyagers Scuttled by Osprey - Great Falls Voyagers
- Osprey Jump out Early, Beat Voyagers, 8-2 - Missoula PaddleHeads
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