Express Weekly Off-Season Report
October 17, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release
ROUND ROCK - He's been touted as a vital part of the Houston Astros' future plans, and with good cause.
J.R. Towles, the lanky catcher who made a splash in Round Rock before touching down in Houston for the end of the 2007 season, currently leads all Winter League Astros with a .429 batting average for the Arizona Fall League Mesa Solar Sox. Fellow catcher Lou Santangelo and infielder Chris Johnson are close behind, each hitting above .300.
Express pitchers Chad Reineke (AFL) and Jose Rodriguez (VWL) have made three combined appearances , logging a total of 3 2/3 innings. Infielder Mark Saccomanno is batting .286 with a double and a home run through three games in the Venezuelan Winter Leagues.
Towles, 23, batted .329 with 49 RBI and 47 runs for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks before joining the Express for 13 games. Playing in St. Louis on Sept. 20, he went 4-for-4, reached base six times and drove in eight runs to surpass Jeff Bagwell for the franchise single-game RBI record.
Watch List: Catcher Lou Santangelo (HWB) is batting .379 with an organizational-high 5 RBI; Right-hander Bud Norris (HWB) has worked an organizational-high 10 2/3 innings, trimming a 3.38 ERA; Express infielder Cody Ransom, who joined the Astros late in 2007 and was named Round Rock's Most Valuable Player, was assigned to Round Rock earlier this week along with pitcher Stephen Randolph.
Pacific Coast League Stories from October 17, 2007
- Rutner, Oldest Jewish Baseball Player, Passes Away - Round Rock Express
- Express Weekly Off-Season Report - Round Rock Express
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