Kurt Mertins is a big hit at Wilmington

When Kurt Mertins of the Wilmington Blue Rocks was named the Carolina League’s offensive player of the week on April 21, it served as a harbinger of things to come for the infielder who was the Kansas City Royals’ 13th-round draft choice in 2006 from College of the Desert.

Mertins, who played at El Dorado High in Placentia before moving on to the community college in Palm Desert, earned the honor after he batted .500 (nine for 18) with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs in five games during the week of April 14-20. He scored four runs and stole a base in helping the Blue Rocks to three wins.

That week’s work raised his batting average to .347, tops on the team and fourth in the league.

After 85 games, Mertins is still one of the top hitters in the advanced Class-A league. His .308 average ranks fifth.

He recently had a 17-game hitting streak during which he batted .394 (26 for 66). The streak, which started June 18 against the Frederick Keys, ended July 11 when he went 0 for 3 (strikeout, ground out, pop up) against the Potomac Nationals.

Mertins rebounded Saturday night with three hits in five at-bats against Potomac and has hit safely in 22 of his last 23 games.

One of his more productive games during the streak was June 28 against Salem. He had a single, a double, a home run and drove in three runs to help Wilmington beat the Avalanche, 8-4. It was his 20th multiple-hit game of the season and raised his June average to .354.

“That’s the way he’s been all year,” Manager Darryl Kennedy told the Wilmington News Journal after the game. “Sometimes, you just don’t even notice him out there. He’s the true ballplayer … who goes out there every day and gives you what he’s got, and before you know it, he always has those hits.”

Mertins, who is listed as a second baseman, also plays third and has taken an occasional turn as the Blue Rocks’ designated hitter. Among his 94 hits are 21 doubles, six triples and two homers. He has 34 RBIs. His on-base percentage is .379 and his slugging percentage is .436. He also has 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts.

“I’m just trying to not do too much… . just swing at good pitches and waiting for my pitch, whether it be the first pitch that I see in that at-bat, or later on in the count,” Mertins told the Wilmington News Journal.

Mertins, 22, spent the 2007 season with the Burlington Bees of the low Class-A Midwest League. He batted .249 with four homers and 39 RBIs and ranked third in the Kansas City system and eighth in the league in stolen bases with 30 (in 38 attempts).

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Another hitter of note is Jimmy Van Ostrand of Salem.

Van Ostrand, the Houston Astros’ eighth-round pick in 2006 from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is tied for eighth in the league with a .297 average.

Normally the right fielder, Van Ostrand has been spending a lot of time at first base as well as serving as the designated hitter for the Avalanche.

Van Ostrand, from Vancouver, Canada, has seven home runs and 53 RBIs for the Avalanche. His on-base percentage is .367 and his slugging percentage is .447.

He had a career game on May 23 at Potomac, going four for four with five RBIs, including a go-ahead grand slam on an 0-1 pitch from reliever Adam Carr in the 10th inning as Salem beat the Nationals, 6-2. Van Ostrand had singled against Carr in the ninth.

“It’s always nice to see a guy twice, especially a reliever, so there was definitely an advantage to seeing him again,” Van Ostrand told MLB.com. “I was looking for something to hit, but he was struggling. You don’t want to let him off easy by chasing something.”

Van Ostrand, who was batting .304 with 40 RBIs, was promoted to Corpus Christi of the double-A Texas League on June 11. He played in nine games with the Hooks and batted .160 (four for 25) with four RBIs. His first double-A hit (in his first at-bat of his third game) was a run-scoring single.

Van Ostrand spent last season at Lexington of the low Class-A South Atlantic League. He batted .289 with 12 homers and 60 RBIs in 98 games. He was selected to play for the World Team in the Futures Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco and hit a pinch-hit solo home run in his only at-bat.

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Right fielder Joe Dickerson of the Wilmington Blue Rocks is tied with Van Ostrand for the eighth-best batting average in the league (.297).

Dickerson, Kansas City’s fourth-round pick in 2005 from Esperanza High in Anaheim, has five homers and 45 RBIs. His on-base percentage is .376 and his slugging percentage is .442. he also has 24 stolen bases.

Rated as the No. 26 prospect in the Kansas City system entering the 2008 season by Baseball America, Dickerson was named the top player last season at low Class-A Burlington by the Royals’ organization.

He led the Bees in batting (.289), hits (121) and on-base percentage (.354). He was second on the team with 26 stolen bases and 23 doubles and tied for second with 50 runs scored. Hit safely in 17 straight games from July 4-24, going 25 for 72 (.347).

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Update dept.:

Jason Dominguez, a right-handed reliever from Pepperdine who was the Astros’ 31st-round draft choice last year, is 3-4 with five saves and a 3.62 earned-run average for Salem. In 54 2/3 innings, he has yielded 46 hits while striking out 38 and walking 16.

Right fielder Brandon Tripp of the Frederick Keys, the Baltimore Orioles’ 12th round draft choice in 2006 from Cal State Fullerton, is batting .245 with 11 homers – tops on the club – and 50 RBIs.

“Minor League Spotlight” is a weekly web-exclusive feature that appears Fridays.