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Josh Short and Ian Thomas Honored as Top Rookies of Northern League Season

September 16, 2010 - Northern League (NL) News Release


Lake County Fielders outfielder Josh Short was named Northern League Rookie Player of the Year, and Winnipeg Goldeyes pitcher Ian Thomas was selected as the Northern League Rookie Pitcher of the Year.

Short, who finished the season ranked among the league leaders offensively, batted .326 (fourth in NL) with 26 home runs (4th ) with 84 RBI (2nd ). Despite playing his second season of professional baseball, Short was still classified as a rookie per Northern League guidelines. He was playing his first season in the Northern League, but second under Lake County Manager Fran Riordan. He played for Riordan last season with the Kalamazoo Kings in the Frontier League where he finished the year ranked second in the league in batting (.360) while posting nine home runs and 46 RBI in 58 games played. Previously this year, the 23-year-old outfielder was selected to the Northern League All-Star Team and was also named NL Player of the Week (August 8th ).

The 6-2, 200-pounder was originally drafted out of high school by the Florida Marlins in the 37th round of the 2005 amateur draft, but did not sign. He went on to play collegiately at Mount Hood Community College (Gresham, OR) prior to eventually signing with the Marlins organization in 2007. He was acquired by Lake County on February 1st , 2010 in a multi-player trade with Kalamazoo.

Thomas, who is the third Winnipeg pitcher to be named the NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year, finished the season 5-1 with four saves and a 1.64 ERA. He only allowed 36 hits over 55 innings of work for the Goldeyes and yielded only two earned runs after July 3rd . He worked in 34 games, all out of the bullpen in 2010.

Thomas, who pitched 16 innings for Winnipeg in 2009, still qualified as a rookie in the Northern League in 2010. He made his professional debut on July 26th , 2009 after signing with the Goldeyes as a non-drafted free agent out of Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA).

The 6-4, 200-pounder was primarily a starter as an amateur, but has not made a start in his first two seasons of professional baseball. The left-hander has appeared in 45 games out of the bullpen in his career.



Northern League Stories from September 16, 2010


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