Full name is Justin Ray Huisman...he and his wife, Ashley, reside in Thornton,
Ill....attended Thornwood (Ill.) High School...Holds the University of Mississippi's career record with 24 saves...set a singleseason
school record with 10 saves in 1999 and then broke his own mark with
11 in 2000...Played with both of his older brothers, Jason and Josh as a freshman in 1998
at Ole Miss.
2004
Huisman (pronounced HEIS-man) appeared in 14 games in 3 stints for the
Royals, posting a 6.84 ERA with 1 save...Acquired from the Rockies on April 7 for minor leaguers Zach McClellan, Chris
Fallon and cash...Made his Major League debut by pitching a scoreless inning (1 H) vs. Minnesota
on April 25...Picked up his 1st career save at Texas on May 19, allowing 1 hit in 2.0 scoreless
innings in KC's 5-3 victory.
2003
Was named to Baseball America's post-season Double A All-Star Team, as he went 7-2 with a 1.75 ERA and 26 saves in his first full season at Class AA...his saves total set a new Tulsa club record, one better than the previous mark of 25 shared by Barry Manuel in 1991 and Greg Runser in 2002...the 26 saves ranked third in the Texas League and trailed only Colorado Springs' Brad Clontz (30) for most within the organization...finished seventh in the 2003 Minor League Rolaids Relief Man Standings with 88 points...Tulsa was nearly unbeatable with a late-inning lead thanks to Huisman, as the Drillers were 60-2 when leading after seven innings and a perfect 59-0 when leading after eight...tied for the league lead with 52 games finished and his 57 appearances ranked third...allowed only 1 home run in 61.2 innings, that coming on Aug. 10 vs. Arkansas...he went the first 47 appearances and 50.2 innings of the season without yielding a long ball...issued only 7 walks while fanning 46...gave up just 1 earned run (3 total) through the first two
months (25.1 IP), holding the opposition to a .194 average against (18-for-93)...his efforts earned him Rockies Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May...Justin's ERA was as low as 0.32 through June 8th and never rose higher than 1.75 at any point during the season...worked scoreless ball in 44 of his 57 games...the mid-season all-star tossed a scoreless IP at the Texas League All-Star Game on June 16 in Wichita...competed in the Arizona Fall League, going 0-0, 5.00 ERA and 2 saves in 13 appearances.
Career:
Huisman (pronounced Heisman) has emerged as the club's top closer prospect...the right-hander has saved 78 games over the past three seasons...a groundball pitcher because of his effective sinker, Justin has
posted a sub-2.00 ERA in every level he's competed in.
2002
Finished third in the Carolina League (A-Advanced) with 20 saves despite
spending six weeks at Double A during a mid-season promotion...his 22
combined saves trailed only Matt Whiteside (26) for most among Rockies
farmhands...did not allow an earned run in his first 29 appearances and 36.0
innings, April 5-June 5...included in that dominant stretch was a 23.2
scoreless innings streak, April 18-May 31...allowed only 2 opponents to
score on him in the first two months, both unearned runs (April 16 at
Frederick and June 2 vs. Winston Salem)...finally gave up his first earned
run of the year on June 7 vs. Lynchburg, his 30th game...named Rockies Minor
League Pitcher of the Month for May, tossing 14 scoreless appearances with 8
saves...promoted to AA-Carolina in mid-June where he struggled to a 6.66 ERA
before returning to the Avalanche on Aug. 2...he was named a mid-season
Carolina League All-Star.
