catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 08-07-2009 10:06 PM
All it took was one year at Kentucky for baseball slugger Ryan Strieby to win Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors and lead UK to its first SEC Championship in school history. Now as the top prospect in the Detroit Tigers system, Strieby has performed well enough to earn a big-league call up.
The Tigers' reigning minor league player of the year, Strieby has done nothing but hit since arriving in Lexington before the 2006 season. Now a member of the double-A Eastern League Erie SeaWolves, Strieby appears ready for a big-league promotion, as his .305 average, 17 home runs and 53 RBI in 78 games attests.
Just one problem, the Tigers already have a good offensive first baseman, Miguel Cabrera, therefore leaving nowhere for Strieby to play upon a big league call up. The lack of a path to the majors is forcing the 6-foot-6, 235-pound slugger to find a different route - the outfield.
"He is going to be a major league hitter, it's just a matter of when that takes place," Glenn Ezell, the Tigers' director of player development said. "His fastest way to the big leagues in our organization is in the outfield. He's just a big guy that's a pretty good athlete."
An everyday first baseman his entire baseball career, Strieby is getting acclimated to the spacious grounds of the outfield in an effort to fast track his path to Comerica Park in Detroit.
"I had no second thoughts (about playing the outfield)," Strieby said in an interview with Baseball America's Matt Forman. "My goal is to play in the big leagues, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get there."
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