Corpus Christi area pro baseball season wrap: Blake Mitchell earns Royals honor

The professional baseball regular season has wrapped up and four players saw action on MLB rosters this season.

Anthony Banda (Sinton) and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jose Trevino (John Paul II) and the New York Yankees, are to begin their postseason pushes in the division round of the MLB playoffs.

Rob Zastryzny played for the Milwaukee Brewers this season, and Nick Loftin spent a large chunk of the season with the Kansas City Royals, also postseason squads.

Blake Mitchell, in his first full professional season, was one of the highlights of all of minor league baseball. The Sinton product and former first-round draft pick hit .232 with 16 doubles, 18 home runs and 50 RBIs — while adding 25 stolen bases in Columbia, earning a late-season call up to High-A Quad Cities.

He was honored as the George Brett Hitter of the Year for the Royals organization for his exploits.

Gregory-Portland's Walker Janek , a Houston Astros draftee, also began his pro career after a stellar campaign with Sam Houston State, with a strong short run with High-A Asheville.

Here is a look at how pro baseball players with ties to Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend fared in 2024.

Final regular season statistics for 2024.

More: Walker Janek, Houston Astros excited after 2024 MLB Draft selection

MLB

Anthony Banda, Sinton, Los Angeles Dodgers

3-2, 3.08 ERA, 49⅔ IP, 44 H, 18 BB, 50 Ks

Jose Trevino, John Paul II, New York Yankees

.215, 45-209, 5 2B, 8 HR, 28 RBIs

Rob Zastryzny, Calallen, Milwaukee Brewers

1-0, 1.17 ERA, 7⅔ IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks

Triple A

Nick Loftin, Ray, Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals)

.302, 64-212, 13 2B, 7 HR, 35 RBIs, 4 SB

Double A

Kale Emshoff, Calallen, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals)

.218, 19-87, 6 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBIs

Kyle Hill, Calallen, Arkansas Travelers (Mariners)

4-2, 5.91 ERA, 35 IP, 34 H, 19 BB, 46 Ks, 1 Sv

Drake Osborn, Orange Grove, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)

.235, 47-200, 11 2B, 2 HR, 24 RBIs, 1 SB

Single A

Walker Janek, Gregory-Portland, Asheville Tourists (Astros)

17-97, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBIs

Jared Kelley, Refugio, Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)

2-1, 4.26 ERA, 44⅓ IP, 46 H, 38 K, 5 Sv

Blake Mitchell, Sinton, Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals)

.232, 92-396, 16 2B, 3 3B, 18 HR, 51 RBIs, 26 SB

J.J. Sanchez, Coastal Bend College, Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays)

6-4, 2.84 ERA, 50⅔ IP, 37 H, 62 Ks, 5 Sv

Florencio Serrano, Robstown, Hickory Crawdads (Rangers)

2-1, 3.34 ERA, 29⅔ IP, 23 H, 24 Ks

Dustin Saenz, King, Fredericksburg Nationals (Nationals)

1-6, 6.54 ERA, 42⅔ IP, 55 H, 30 Ks

Independent

Jose Acuna, Veterans Memorial, Lexington Legends (Atlantic League)

1-4, 6.21 ERA, 33⅓ IP, 34 H, 45 BB, 27 Ks

Nick Anderson, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Winnipeg Goldeyes (American Association)

.218, 29-133, 4 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBIs, 4 SB

Michael Berglund, Carroll, York Revolution (Atlantic League)

.236, 33-140, 10 2B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 5 SB

Courtney Hawkins, Carroll, Charleston Dirty Birds (Atlantic League)

.219, 14-64, 2 2B, 5 HR, 14 RBIs

Austin Ochoa, Refugio, Utica Unicorns (USPBL)

.288, 40-139, 6 HR, 22 RBIs, 6 SB

Antonio Valdez, Ray, Joliet Slammers (Frontier League)

.278, 84-302, 20 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBIs, 15 SB

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi area pro baseball season wrap: Blake Mitchell earns Royals honor