ACU minor leaguers stay hot; Malone's tryout with Bills begins Friday

Billy Malone, the record-setting ACU quarterback who exhausted his eligibility after the 2008 season heads to Buffalo Thursday to begin a tryout Friday. With mandatory camps just around the corner, Malone will need to prove immediately that he can play with the big boys to get a shot to make the roster or possibly the practice squad. More official details will be given later.

Four former ACU players are playing professional baseball this season, and three of those four athletes have had very solid performances over the past couple of weeks. Brenan Herrera (pictured from his ACU playing days in 2005) has raised his batting average 18 points in the past 10 games from .270 to .288 while helping the Wichita Wingnuts to a 21-11 record. The every day shortstop, Herrera, plays in the American Association of Independent Baseball league where former ACU players Ben Brockman and Ryan Barker have also participated in the past. For the season, Herrera has two home runs 14 RBI, seven doubles, and has scored 17 times. On a side note, another former Abilene player plays in the same league with Herrera as McMurry-ex Stephen Derrick signed with the St. Paul Saints Tuesday.

Trey Watten, nephew of ACU head coach Britt Bonneau, and a three-year player for ACU, has had five solid pitching outings as of late for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Watten, a seventh-round Major League Baseball draft selection by the Milwuakee Brewers is playing in high-A ball with the Rattlers this season. In his first eight outings, Watten surrendered 22 earned runs in his first 33 innings of work for a 6.00 ERA. However, since May 23, he surrendered just five earned runs in 28.2 innings of work giving Watten a 1.59 ERA over the five-game stretch. In his last start June 13, Watten gave up just one run in six innings and struck out a season-high eight batters in a no-decision. So far in 2009, Watten is 2-6 with a 4.01 ERA, he's struck out 59 in 60.2 innings and has recorded a save.

Since our last update, Chris Wiman of the independent Southern Illinois Miners in the Frontier League did pick up his first loss June 12. Once again, the Miners held Wiman to just five innings in the starting rotation and he gave up three runs, walked three and struck out four. However, Wiman responded in a big way Wednesday night in his first relief appearance. He tossed four innings of relief, allowed just two hits, one run and struck out three to pick up his first professional save. On the season, Wiman is 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA, and 22 strikeouts in 24 innings of work.

Jameson Maj, a former MLB draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals, and a teammate of Wiman's on the Miners hasn't pitched since June 5. He threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief that game but hasn't seen the mound since. I will work on trying to get the official word on Maj to see if he is still with the team or maybe sitting due to injury and keep you updated.