Redbirds in the Pros: Headean Stellar in Hometown Outing

NORMAL, Ill. – Pitching just across the Illinois River from his hometown of Morton, Illinois, Will Headean gave his hometown fans reason to cheer.

Pitching for the Class A Fort Wayne TinCaps, Headean came on in relief and tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out six – just one shy of his season high – in Fort Wayne's 4-3 loss to Peoria, in a game played at Dozer Park on July 15.

The outing was one of the best of the season for Headean, who has transitioned from a starting role to the bullpen. Headean has not allowed a run over his past two appearances, spanning 4.2 innings, and his strikeout totals remain high, at nearly one per inning (60 strikeouts in 65.2 innings in 2017).

A 13th round selection of the San Diego Padres in the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, Headean owns a career record of 7-9, two saves and a 4.47 ERA over 185.1 minor-league innings.

Headean is one of 10 former Redbirds currently playing affiliated professional baseball. They include:

Paul DeJong | MLB | St. Louis Cardinals

• Batting .284/.299/.574 with 12 home runs, 13 doubles and 26 RBIs in 46 games at the big-league level.
• Homered in back-to-back games at the Chicago Cubs, July 22-23.

Brock Stewart | MLB | Los Angeles Dodgers

• Has not allowed an earned run in six appearances, spanning 13 innings, at the Major-League level this season.
• Pitched two scoreless innings in his most recent outing, July 20 versus Atlanta.

Neal Cotts | Triple-A | Syracuse Chiefs (Washington Nationals)

• Currently 1-2 with a 4.04 ERA in 37 relief appearances in the International League.
• Pitched two scoreless frames in a 6-4 win at Columbus July 23.

Ryan Court | Triple-A | Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox)

• Batting .287/.375/.445 with 25 extra-base hits and 36 RBIs in 74 games in the International League.
• Had 16-game hitting streak snapped July 20 versus Norfolk.

Chad Hinshaw | Triple-A | New Orleans Baby Cakes (Miami Marlins)

• Batting .230/.346/.355 with 11 doubles, 26 runs scored and 13 RBIs in 48 games in the Pacific Coast League.
• Stole a base and scored two runs at Oklahoma City July 14.

Eric Aguilera | Double-A | Frisco RoughRiders (Texas Rangers)

• Slashing .235/.331/.401 with 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 40 RBIs in 83 games in the Texas League.
• Went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs in a 6-1 win at Corpus Christi.  

Jeremy Rhoades | Double-A | Mobile BayBears (Los Angeles Angels)

• Owns a combined 4-3 record and 6.75 ERA across two minor-league stops in 2017.
• Tallied a 1-0 record and a 5.25 ERA since promotion to Double-A Mobile on June 15.

Ryan Koziol | Class A | Augusta GreenJackets (San Francisco Giants)

• Currently on the 60-day disabled list.

Jean Ramirez | Class A Short Season | Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay Rays)

• Batting .152/.263/.303 in 10 games in the New York-Penn League.
• Hit a two-run home run in a 6-5 win at Vermont July 17.

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