Eric Young Jr.
From BR Bullpen
Eric Alan Young
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lb.
- Born May 25, 1985 in Piscataway, NJ USA
Eric Young Jr. is the son of Eric Young and Eric Sr.'s high school girlfriend; Eric Jr. was born out of wedlock and his parents never married, but Eric Sr. remained active in his life from the time he turned seven. They spent the summers together and Eric Jr. developed a love for baseball.
Eric was undrafted and signed with the Colorado Rockies as an amateur free agent in 2004. Young Jr. hit .264/.407/.345 for the Casper Rockies and stole 14 bases in 23 games while getting caught once. Returning to Casper, he hit .301/.404/.438 the next year and stole 25 in 35 tries. He led Pioneer League second basemen with 22 errors.
Eric began to look like a prospect with the 2006 Asheville Tourists, producing at a .295/.391/.409 clip, scoring 92 times and stealing 87 bases in 118 tries. He led the South Atlantic League in steals, tied for third in runs and was sixth in OBP. In fact, he led all of the minor leagues in steals, 18 more than runner-up Darren Ford, but also was caught stealing more than anyone else, 8 times ahead of the runner-ups. He also led SAL second basemen in both putouts (267) and assists (369). Baseball America rated him as being the best baserunner and fastest baserunner in the SAL. He spent the winter in the Hawaii Winter League, hitting .287/.348/.366 for the Waikiki BeachBoys and going 14 for 19 in steals. He was 6th in the HWL in average and tied Ford for second in the league in swipes, six behind leader Nyjer Morgan.
Sources: 2005-2007 Baseball Almanacs, "Home Run Dads" in USA Weekend Magazine, Minorleaguebaseball.com, Hawaii Winter League site
