Minor league update: Kevin Swick notches first professional hit, run
Kevin Swick (La Cañada native) Arizona League White Sox third baseman: In his first game as a professional, Swick recorded his first hit and his first run scored.
Swick started at third base, hitting eighth in the Arizona League White Sox’s season opener on June 20 against the Arizona League Mariners. The White Sox lost, 10-8, with Swick going one for five. He led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to right field and later scored on a fielder’s choice.
Unfortunately, Swick hasn’t found his way back in the lineup in the three games since. Nick Basto, a fifth-round pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by Chicago, has started every game following the opener at third base and is batting third. He’s gone 0 for 12.
Swick, taken in this year’s draft in the 22nd round with the 648th overall pick, was a standout at USC.
The White Sox were 1-3 heading into Thursday’s game against the Rangers at 7 p.m.
Joe De Pinto (St. Francis High, 2007) Birmingham Barons outfielder: De Pinto’s battle for playing time ended with his release on June 18 from the White Sox organization.
De Pinto, a multiple-time All-Area player at St. Francis before moving on to USC in college, played in just 15 of the team’s 70 games prior to his release. He was drafted in 2011 in the 21st round by Chicago, the parent organization of the double-A Barons.
His final stats were a .160 average with eight hits in 50 at-bats. He had four runs, one run batted in, two doubles, a home run and four stolen bases. Consequently, he hit safely in the last four games he played with Birmingham, going five for 16.
Fernando Valenzuela Jr. (St. Francis High, 2000) Leones de Yucatan first baseman: The former Golden Knight and Glendale Community College player is clinging to stay above the .300 mark while working through a slump.
Valenzuela, the son of Los Angeles Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela, is two for 16 over his last five games.
For the season, he is hitting .301 (69 for 229) through 63 games heading into Friday’s Mexican League game against Laguna. Yucatan is 26-41 and in last place in the eight-team Mexican League South heading into Friday.
Valenzuela’s average is third-best on the team and accompanies 20 runs, 11 doubles, seven home runs (second on the team), 36 RBI (second on the team). He’s also drawn 20 walks.
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Follow Grant Gordon on Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon.