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SL Biloxi Shuckers

Jakson Reetz Named Southern League Most Valuable Player

November 8, 2022 - Southern League (SL)
Biloxi Shuckers News Release


BILOXI, MS - 2022 Biloxi Shuckers' catcher Jakson Reetz has been named the 2022 Southern League Most Valuable Player as announced by Minor League Baseball on Tuesday. In addition to being named the league MVP, Reetz was selected to the Southern League All-Star Team for 2022.

"I'm very honored and very humbled by this award," said Reetz. "I put in a lot of hard work this offseason, and I owe a ton of thanks to my dad who was there for me every day during the offseason and during the season. He put in the same amount of work, if not more than I did, to help me get ready for a bounce back season. And then another great family friend, Steve Russell, came along with my brothers to hit every day and brought positive energy."

"I got to give my teammates a ton of credit, that was a great team I played with this year," added Reetz. "I was very thankful to be a part of the Brewers' system, they welcomed me in, and it was awesome. [Hitting Coach] Chuckie Caufield and [Development coach] J.J. Reimer, they put in a lot of work with me, and they gave me everything I needed to go out there and succeed, and I owe those guys so much credit."

Reetz slashed .281/.392/.636/1.028 with 16 doubles, 22 home runs, 58 RBI and 65 runs scored in 64 games with Biloxi. Among players with at least 250 plate appearances in the Southern League in 2022, Reetz had the highest slugging percentage, OPS and Weight Runs Created Plus (165). At the time of his promotion to Triple-A Nashville on July 11, the Shuckers' catcher led the Southern League in home runs, slugging percentage, OPS, RBI and hit-by-pitch (16), was second in extra-base hits (38) and total bases (147), fourth in on-base percentage, fifth in runs scored, ninth in batting average and tied for ninth in doubles.

Originally drafted in the third round of the 2014 draft by the Washington Nationals out of Norris (NE) High School, Reetz signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent on December 9, 2021. He hit his first home run of the season on April 17 against the Mississippi Braves, going deep twice and driving in all five runs in a 5-4 Shuckers' victory. It was one of four multi-homer efforts by Reetz with the Shuckers, who surpassed his previous career season high of 13 homers, which he hit with High-A Potomac in 2019. The 26-year-old homered in six of seven games from May 13 to May 20 and was named the Southern League Player of the Week for the week of June 21 to 26. He followed up his Player of the Week honor by launching a walk-off two-run homer on June 29 against the M-Braves, one of 12 walk-offs for Biloxi in 2022.

"His ability to focus day-in and day-out and the intent behind his routine of what he was trying to accomplish, and his attention to detail, are the things that allowed him to be successful," said Caufield. "It makes you happy to see a guy with that kind of buy-in execute and help himself."

Reetz is just the second Shuckers' player to be recognized as the Southern League MVP, joining Corey Ray, who earned the honor in 2018. After his promotion to Triple-A Nashville, Reetz was added to the Milwaukee Brewers' 40-man roster on August 4 but was designated for assignment and signed with the Kansas City Royals on August 24. In 104 games between Biloxi, Nashville and the Omaha Storm Chasers, Reetz hit .264 with 22 doubles, a triple, 30 home runs and 82 RBI. He was one of just 16 players in Minor League Baseball to hit at least 30 home runs.

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