Bowling Green, Ky — Seven former Hilltoppers continue to make the trek through minor league farm systems, led by former WKU All-American pitcher Matt Wilhite.
Wilhite continues to shine as the closer for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. In 22 appearances, the Bowling Green, Ky. native has compiled a 2.93 ERA, with eight saves, 18 strikeouts and only three walks in 27.2 innings of work. Wilhite hasn’t allowed a run in his last 13.2 innings, with seven saves during that span. The Sky Sox (51-39) are currently in first place in the North Division of the Pacific Coast League.
Elizabethtown, Ky. native Jordan Newton has hit safely in eight out of his last 10 games, batting .333 over that span with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. In 40 games with the Flying Tigers in 2009, Newton leads the team in doubles (15) and slugging percentage (.464), while hitting .258 with three triples and four home runs. Newton was promoted earlier this season from West Michigan, where he was hitting .386, with three home runs and nine RBI in 11 games with the White Caps.
The last Hilltopper taken in the 2009 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft, Evan Teague, has made an immediate splash with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, making four straight scoreless appearances before giving up his first run on July 11. Teague has made five appearances since signing with the Blue Jays, sporting a 3.00 ERA, with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.
Former Hilltopper shortstop Terrence Dayleg spent four games with the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Class-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins, before returning to the Rookie Gulf Coast League Marlins, where he is currently hitting .280 in seven games, with a pair of doubles and a .379 on-base percentage. The GCL Marlins (9-7) are in second place in the Rookie Gulf Coast League East Division.
Wade Gaynor, the highest draft pick in Hilltopper history, has hit safely in his last four games with the Oneonta Tigers in Class-A Short-Season. Gaynor has four doubles and nine RBI in 22 games, while scoring 13 runs with four stolen bases as the everyday third baseman. The Hawesville, Ky. native was tabbed in the third round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft by the Detroit Tigers.
Relief pitcher J.B. Paxson worked three innings of scoreless baseball on July 5 to give the Ogden Raptors a 5-3 win over the Casper Ghosts in the Rookie Pioneer League and earned his first professional pitching win in the process. Paxson has appeared in five games with the Raptors, striking out six in 8.2 innings of work, with two saves and a 4.32 ERA. The Raptors (11-9), the rookie partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, are in second place in the Rookie Pioneer League South Division.
Chad Cregar had hit safely in six out of his last eight games before being placed on the disabled list with the Jamestown Jammers in Class-A Short Season. Cregar was hitting .219 in eight games with the Jammers and belted the first home run of his professional career on June 29 against the Auburn Doubledays. The Oxford, Miss. native was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 15th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft.
Teague, Gaynor, Dayleg, Paxson and Cregar were among the six WKU players drafted in the 2009 Major League First-Year Players Draft. That number doubed the old mark of three draftees in a single year. WKU closed out its historic 2009 season with the program’s first national ranking since 2001, finishing 23rd in the College Baseball Top 30 poll.
