Baseball: Jenkins Signs with Cleveland Indians
May 23, 2007 04:00 PM | General
May 23, 2007
 |
||
| Justin Jenkins |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University senior left fielder Justin Jenkins has signed a free agent deal with the Cleveland Indians.
The Ridgeley, W.Va., native was named to the all-BIG EAST first team outfield earlier this week after batting .372 with 21 doubles, 11 home runs and 48 RBI as a senior. He leaves WVU with a .369 career average while holding eight school records including career total bases (429), career multi-hit games (78), season base hits (94 in 2006) and career base hits (253).
The second-team preseason All-American also put together a school record 38-game hit streak to tie for 10th all-time in NCAA baseball history.
Jenkins will spend the next few weeks working out in Winter Haven, Fla., before likely coming back to play for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a member of the New York-Penn League of Minor League Baseball, a short-season Class A league.
The Scrappers, located in Niles, Ohio, have been affiliated with Cleveland since 1999 and often field many of the Indians’ prospects in their first couple of seasons in professional baseball. Five of the Indians first six draft picks saw action as members of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the 2006 season.
Twelve former Scrappers are currently on the Cleveland Indians 40-man roster, including former American League All-Stars C.C. Sabathia,Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko and Fausto Carmona.
“This is a great chance for me to prove myself,” Jenkins says. “I’ve enjoyed my last three years at West Virginia, but I am thankful for this opportunity and can’t wait to get started.”
It’s not uncommon for fifth-year players to sign free agent deals before the major league draft in June.
