Attended Hartshorne (OK) High School,
Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton, OK and
the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.
2003
Received the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award as the organization's Minor League Player of the
Year...in his first professional season above Class A was 1 of 13 Reds players to make his Major League debut and
1 of 9 Reds players in the last 3 seasons to make his ML debut while skipping Triple-A...in 122g at Louisville and
Chattanooga combined to hit .283 (19hr, 78rbi, 11sb)...was a Southern League All-Star at Chattanooga...among all
Reds minor leaguers ranked ninth in hitting, T3rd in homers and fourth in RBI...appeared in 21g for the Reds, including
9 starts...began the season at Chattanooga and in 79g there hit .318 (16hr, 54rbi, 6sb) before he was promoted to
the Reds on 6/29, when LHP Kent Mercker went on the disabled list...appeared in 1g during his first stint with the
Reds, on 7/1 at Pit lined out as a pinch hitter off Scott Sauerbeck in his Major League debut...was optioned to Louisville
the next day, when RHP Todd Van Poppel was promoted...hit .127 in 17g for Louisville before he returned to
Chattanooga...was recalled a second time on 8/25, after OF Reggie Taylor was injured, and remained with Cin the rest
of the season...on 8/25 vs Mil recorded his first Major League hit, a pinch-hit, 2-run HR off Matt Kinney...became the
first Reds player to produce a pinch-hit homer for his first Major League hit since Bob Thurman did it on 4/16/55 vs
Mil...on 8/27 vs Mil had a season-high 2 hits, both doubles, and an RBI...on 9/9 vs Pit recorded his only stolen
base...made all 9 of his starts in LF...in the batting order hit fifth (2gs), sixth (2gs), seventh (4gs) and eighth (1gs)...at
Chattanooga was the TOPPS Southern League Player of the Month for June (.337, 6hr, 19rbi)...participated in the
RadioShack All-Star Futures Game at U.S. Cellular Field...played for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League (24g, .295,
3hr, 20rbi, 3sb)...led Scottsdale in RBI.
Career highlights: Enters the 2004 season as the organization's seventh-best prospect as rated by
Baseball
America...in 2003 received the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year,
was a Southern League All-Star, was the TOPPS Southern League Player of the Month for June and participated in the
RadioShack All-Star Futures Game at U.S. Cellular Field...also was selected to play in the 2003 Class AA All-Star
Game...in 2002 was a California League All-Star, a Baseball America High Class A All-Star, Stockton's Most Valuable
Player and the California League championship MVP...in 2000 was a Pioneer League All-Star.
2002
In an All-Star season at Class A Stockton hit .313 with 19hr, 99rbi and 17sb in 128g...ranked among California League leaders in doubles (36, 2nd), RBI (2nd), total bases (246, 3rd), hitting (3rd), hits (151, 4th) and extra-base hits (56, 5th)...among all Reds minor leaguers ranked second in RBI and sixth in hitting...hit a grand slam on 4/12 vs
San Jose.
2001
At Class A Dayton produced one of the best seasons of any Reds minor leaguer...hit .280 with 20hr, 73rbi and 16sb in 134g...led the Midwest League with 45 doubles and 67 extra-base hits...also ranked among the league leaders in games played (134, T2nd), total bases (248, T3rd) and runs (89, T4th)...enjoyed his best game of the season on 5/10 vs West Michigan, when in an 18-5 victory he reached base in all 6 plate apps (4-4, 5r, 2 2b, 1rbi, 2bb, 1sb)...was voted Most Valuable Player of the organization's fall instructional league.
2000
In his first professional season hit .316 with 15hr, 65rbi and 14sb in 70g at Billings in the Pioneer League..ranked second among all Reds minor leaguers in batting...ranked among the Pioneer League leaders in hits (95, 1st), at-bats (301, 1st), RBI (65, 2nd), total bases (166, 2nd), home runs (15, T2nd), extra-base hits (36, T2nd) and triples (5, T5th)...from 7/6-7/18 put together a 10-game hitting streak (.409, 4hr, 13rbi), then from 7/20-8/1 had a season-high 12-game hitting streak (.386, 3hr, 14rbi)...hit a grand slam in an 11-3 victory on 8/3 at Butte...in an 18-9 win on 9/2 vs Ogden had 2hr and a season-high 5rbi...in that game missed the cycle by a single and tied a season high by scoring 4 runs.
