Prairie High grad Taylor Ard made quite a splash in his first season of professional baseball.
The Prairie High grad, drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of Washington State, was honored twice by the Northwest League, being named an all-star first baseman and designated hitter while playing for the Everett Aquasox.
Ard led the NWL in RBI (58), doubles (21) and total bases (174), and was tied for the league lead in home runs with 21. He hit .284 for the season, which was 10th in the league.
Here’s a season-ending update on other Clark County minor leaguers:
• Steven Ames — The Hudson’s Bay grad was a member of the North Division for the Double-A Southern League all-star game this season. He was 3-3 with a 1.56 ERA for the Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers) with 18 saves. He had 72 strikeouts and 13 walks in 631/3 innings pitched over 54 games.
• Greg Peavey — The Hudson’s Bay grad was 8-8 with a 5.06 ERA for the Double-A Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League. He started 25 games, threw 144 innings and had 84 strikeouts to 37 walks.
• Jeff Ames — A Skyview grad, went 6-1 with a 1.96 ERA for the Class A short-season Hudson Valley Renegades in the New York-Penn League. Hudson Valley is currently in the NY-PL playoffs. Ames, a first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 out of Lower Columbia Community College, started 13 regular-season games, threw 641/3 innings and struck out 70 while walking 20.
• Tyson Van Winkle — Another Hudson’s Bay grad, the Diamondbacks’ catching prospect hit .249 in 48 total games. He played 42 games for Visalia of the California League and six games with the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League.
• Kyrell Hudson — The Evergreen High grad hit .224 for the Lakewood BlueClaws of the Class A South Atlantic League. The Phillies centerfield prospect had 21 RBI in 64 games.
• Clint Coulter — The Union High grad was hot in the Arizona League with the Brewers rookie league team. The catcher hit .302 with 33 RBI and five home runs in 49 games. He led the league in on-base percentage (.439).
• Michael Blake — The Heritage High grad played 17 games for the Pioneer League champs Missoula Osprey (Rookie League, Arizona Diamondbacks), he was 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in 24 innings pitched. He struck out 37 and walked 22.
