MOUNTAINEERS IN THE PROS Being a professional baseball player and playing for West Virginia has been synonymous since the Mountaineers sent their first player to Major League Baseball in 1895. Since Jake Hewitt pitched for the Pirates that season, WVU has had 20 MLB players, with the most recent being David Carpenter, who made his debut with the Houston Astros last season. Carpenter finished the season with a 2.93 ERA in 34 games, allowing just nine runs in 27.2 innings pitched and striking out 29. Under Van Zant, Carpenter became the fifth player to advance to the big leagues. Overall, Van Zant has 50 players who have either been drafted or signed free agent contracts, including Grant Buckner who was drafted in the 26th round of the 2011 draft by the Chicago White Sox and AllAmerican Jedd Gyorko, who was picked in the 2010 second round by the San Diego Padres. Buckner was voted as the “Best Pure Hitter” in the White Sox 2011 draft class by Baseball America. Buckner finished last season batting .311 with 39 runs, five home runs and 36 RBIs while playing for Bristol in the Rookie League. Buckner led the team in batting average and was named the team MVP. Gyorko was named the No. 6 prospect in the Padres organization and was named the “Best Hitter for Average,” according to Baseball America after completing his second season of pro ball. Gyorko split the 2011 season between Class A Lake Elsinore and Class AA San Antonio. In 576 at-bats, Gyorko had a minor league leading 192 hits, 25 home runs, 114 RBIs, a batting average of .333 and an on-base percentage of .400. Gyorko settled for batting titles in the Cal League (.365) and Arizona Fall League (.437). Tyler Kuhn was named the “Best Hitter for Average” in the White Sox organization by Baseball America after batting .333 in 2011, splitting time with Class AA Birmingham and Class AAA Charlotte. Kuhn had 168 hits, 32 doubles, 11 triples and 55 RBIs throughout the season. Vince Belnome (Padres) and Tobias Streich (Minnesota Twins) also are representing WVU in the minor leagues, with Belnome being named a Baseball America Class AA All-Star. Belnome played an injury-shortened season with San Antonio and batted .333 in 75 games to go with 56 runs, 19 doubles, 17 homers and 62 RBIs. Streich played with Beloit in Class A and batted .212 in 71 games with four home runs and 16 RBIs.
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