SPOTLIGHT
Former Corpus Christi (Texas) outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (.305) was leading the Class AA Texas League in batting average through Sunday, even though he had been promoted to Fresno of the Class AAA Pacific League on June 29.
Frisco (Texas) infielder Ronald Guzman was second in the league at .303 and Tulsa outfielder Alex Verdugo (.299) was third.
Hernandez eventually won’t have enough at-bats to qualify, which would leave Guzman and
Verdugo to battle it out for the batting title.
The significance: There’s a possibility the Texas League batting title could be won with a sub-.300 average. If that occurs, it would be the third time in league history and the first time since 1906 (George Whiteman, Cleburne, .281).
If Guzman wins the Texas League batting title with about the same average as he has now, it would be the lowest since DallasFort Worth’s Enos Cabell hit .311 in 1971.
St. Lucie (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) catcher Tomas Nido has the next-
lowest league-leading average in the minors. He was atop the Class A Florida State League with a .321 batting average in the traditionally pitcher-friendly league.
Bakersfield’s Kyle Petty was leading the Class A California League with a .327 average, and Hartford’s Raimel Tapia was leading the Class AA Eastern League at .330.
The other full-season league leaders ranged from .333 to .371.
Hernandez, meanwhile, is proving that his effort in the Texas League was no fluke. He was hitting .365 with 11 RBI in his first 14 Pacific Coast League games.