DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tortugas fans applauded the promotion of one of Daytona’s best hitters, Jacob Friend, who was promoted to High-A Dayton following the Tampa series at the end of May. During his time in Daytona, Friend racked up accolades including being named the FSL Player of the Month in April. Friend batted with a .329 average with six home runs, 17 RBI, a .435 OBP, and a 1.192 OPS over 19 games, making the April recognition well deserved.
Friend was at the top of almost every statistic during his time in the Florida State League, including ranking fifth in batting average (.307), tied for third in homers (9), tied for second in RBI (34), fourth in OBP (.433), and second in OPS (1.020). Friend led the Tortugas in almost every major hitting statistic.
Friend was quick to contribute for the Dayton Dragons. In his first nine games, he racked up a .281 batting average with two home runs, three RBI, a .395 OBP, and a .926 OPS, while also drawing five walks and adding a stolen base. Friend has picked up right where he left off after being promoted on June 2nd.
Friend played his college baseball at Davidson, posting a .275 batting average with 22 home runs and 86 RBIs. He earned Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team honors in 2022, was named to the Atlantic 10 Second Team in 2023, and became one of the conference's top offensive players, ranking among its leaders in walks and on-base percentage. In 2024, he was recognized nationally with a spot on the Buster Posey Award Watch List for the nation's top collegiate catchers.
His accolades earned him a sixth round selection by the Reds in 2024. He got off to a slow start in Daytona, hitting just.191 through 67 games last season. However, he transformed his game and became a premier hitter this year, capping off his tenure with the Tortugas with a 4-for-4 performance tallying two bombs, a walk, and two RBI. It was the first multi-home run game by a Tortuga this season to cap off a superb tenure in Daytona Beach, and earned him a much deserved promotion to High-A Dayton.