A pair of former Bradley Baseball players competing professionally at the Double-A level are proving their worth at the plate of late. Dan Brewer has slugged three home runs in his last eight games for the New York Yankees affiliate Trenton Thunder, while Ryan Curry is hitting .444 (12-27) in his last eight games for the Florida Marlins affiliate Jacksonville Suns.
Playing second base for the Suns in the Double-A Southern League, Curry has seen his season average climb to .276 during his recent surge, which has included a trio of 3-hit games. After hitting his third home run of the season in Friday's series finale versus the Carolina Mudcats, Curry doubled twice in a 3-for-4 performance Sunday at Montgomery.
Curry hit .416 as a senior in 2007 and owns the Bradley career hits (253) record. He was selected in the 21st round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Marlins.
Although he has hit safely in seven of his last nine games, Brewer has seen his season average dip to .236, but has maintained his production by either driving in a run or scoring a run in five consecutive games. His fifth homer of the season Saturday versus Richmond forged a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning of an eventual 5-4, come-from-behind win by the Thunder. Among his other recent highlights, Brewer had an RBI double in Friday's 2-1 loss versus Richmond, a 2-run homer in Thursday's 10-7 loss to Portland and a grand slam in a 13-2 win May 30 at New Hampshire to launch his recent power surge.
Brewer was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference outfielder in 2008, when he was taken in the eighth round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Yankees. He was a South Atlantic League All-Star for the Single-A Charleston River Dogs during the first half of the 2009 season and was later a Florida State League Player of the Week after being promoted to the High Single-A Tampa Yankees.
Two other former Braves listed at the Double-A level, Ryan Eigsti and Brandon Magee, remain on the disabled list with injuries, while pitcher Rob Scahill, has seen his record drop to 2-4 with a 7.69 ERA for the Colorado Rockies Single-A affiliate Modesto (Calif.) Nuts.
