Athletes Beyond Bartow: Seigler makes pro debut, Howard returns to Albuquerque
Former Cartersville High School standout and New York Yankees first round draft pick Anthony Seigler made his professional baseball debut Monday afternoon with the Rookie Gulf Coast League Yankees West.
Seigler started at catcher (photo) for five innings and finished 1-for-2 on the day with a double and a run scored.
Meanwhile, Sam Howard returned to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes' starting rotation after a brief stint with the MLB Rockies and Connor Justus closed out the first half of the 2018 Double-A Southern League schedule with the Mobile BayBears.
SAM HOWARD — Albuquerque Isotopes (5th yr. pro; LHP; Colorado Rockies organization; Triple-A Pacific Coast League; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS)… made his first start for the Isotopes after returning to Albuquerque following a brief stint with the MLB Rockies where he pitched a scoreless inning against the Diamondbacks. Howard worked four innings in a non-decision outing Sunday night at home against the Nashville Sounds. The ‘Topes went on to win the high-scoring game, 17-12, as the two teams combined for 29 hits. Howard allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits and three walks. He struck out three and left the game with Albuquerque tied 5-5. For the 2018 season, Howard is 3-4 with a 5.24 ERA in 10 starts for the Isotopes. He has 36 strikeouts in 46.1 innings. Albuquerque (34-35) wraps up a seven game homestand Monday and Tuesday with a pair of games against Nashville. The Isotopes then travel to Pacific Northern Division leading Fresno for a four-game series Thursday through Sunday. Howard’s next scheduled start will be at home next week when Albuquerque hosts Sacramento.
CONNOR JUSTUS — Mobile BayBears (3rd yr. pro; MIF; L.A. Angels organization; Double-A Southern League; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS)… Justus appeared in three of six games this past week for the BayBears who went 3-3 in that stretch and completed the season’s first half in second place in the . He was 1-for-12 at the plate with a run scored in his three appearances. All three games for Justus were road games at the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and he started twice at second base and once at shortstop. He hit sixth in the order each time. Justus finished the season’s first half with a .186 batting average in 188 at-bats over 57 games. He walked 30 times with nine extra base hits and 13 RBI. His on-base percentage was .313. Defensively, the middle infielder started 33 games at shortston and 22 at second base. He had a fielding percentage of .951 in 223 total chances and was part of 37 double plays. Following Tuesday’s Southern League All-Star Game in Birmingham, Mobile hosts a six-game series with the Tennessee Smokies Thursday through next Tuesday.
ANTHONY SEIGLER — GCL Yankees West (1st yr. pro; C; N.Y. Yankees organization; Rookie Gulf Coast League; Cartersville HS)… The Yankees 2018 first round pick made his professional debut Monday afternoon for GCL Yankees West. He started at catcher for five innings and was 1-for-2 at the plate with a double and a run scored in the fourth inning. In his first pro at-bat, Seigler flied out to right field. The Yankees West lost the game to the GCL Phillies East 8-3 at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, FL. It was both teams’ 2018 season opening game. The GCL Yankees schedule this week includes the Tigers East (Tuesday, 12 p.m.), Tigers West (Thursday, 12 p.m.), Braves (Friday 12 p.m.), and Phillies West (Saturday, 10 a.m.). Gulf Coast League Rookie level teams play a 54-game schedule in June, July, and August.
