SAL notes: Hoelscher starting to shine

The 2015 slate did not begin on the best of notes for Shane Hoelscher.

A left quadriceps injury suffered in Arizona forced the third baseman to spend the first month of the campaign in extended spring training. From there he started the regular season with a four-game stint in the California League with Modesto before joining the Asheville Tourists on May 17.

Many Minor Leaguers might have felt frustration with the situation, but Hoelscher took the opposite approach. The Texas native knew nothing about Asheville, other than the fact that McCormick Field played a brief role in Bull Durham, but realized the historic ballpark could serve as a launching pad for his fledgling professional career.

"I actually liked the move a lot," Hoelscher said. "I had several people say, 'Sorry you're here; I'm sure you want to be in high-A.' I'm like, I love being here in Asheville. In extended, it's a different kind of grind. It's early mornings and long days. It's a lot of extra work and you're not playing a lot of games. Modesto, meanwhile, was fine, but coming here has been one of the best experiences of my life."

Hoelscher's performance over the past three months has been as positive as his approach. He leads the South Atlantic League with a .323 batting average, 13 points higher than the three players who are tied for second. The infielder is also third on the circuit with a .420 on-base percentage and a .527 slugging percentage and leads all current Tourists with 27 doubles, 10 home runs and 51 RBIs. He also has displayed an excellent eye at the plate as evidenced by his 44 walks versus only 55 strikeouts. His defense, meanwhile, has been just as solid at the hot corner, giving manager Warren Schaeffer a steady performer in all aspects of the game.

Such performances are not uncommon for Hoelscher. He had the same type of productivity during his four years at Rice University, where he played for legendary head coach Wayne Graham. By the time his career with the Owls came to a close at the end of the 2013-14 academic year, Hoelscher ranked sixth in school history with 804 at-bats, seventh with 218 games played and tied for 11th with 50 doubles.

Much like his time in Asheville, Hoelscher made the most of his opportunities at Rice. He was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 2011 after making 53 starts at third base, which at the time was a new position for him. He also was second on the team with 37 RBIs and batted at a .281 clip, including a .364 performance in the NCAA Tournament.

After manning third base once again as a sophomore, Hoelscher led the Owls with a .320 batting average in 2013 despite missing a month with an injury. He earned spots on both the NCAA All-Regional team and the C-USA All-Tournament team. His senior season brought more success, including ranking second in the conference with 21 doubles, tying for fifth with 43 runs scored and placing sixth with 75 hits and a .330 batting average. Those numbers helped Hoelscher garner Third Team All-America recognition as well as First Team All-Conference USA and NCAA All-Regional team honors.

"I wouldn't trade my experience at Rice for anything," Hoelscher said. "I went into college as a shortstop and another guy ended up beating me out for the spot. I wound up playing some second base and a little bit at short before Anthony Rendon experienced a sore shoulder a few games in. They stuck me in there. It was a little dicey at first, but it wound up being a great move. I learned a lot from Anthony. He was a great guy to watch and learn how to play the position. I still see him in the offseason and we talk during the season."

Drafted by Colorado in the 17th round in 2014, Hoelscher made his debut with Tri-City and led the Northwest League with a .427 on-base percentage and ranked fourth with a .332 batting average. He also contributed 16 doubles, two triples, a pair of home runs and 27 RBIs to the Dust Devils' cause.

More success has come this season in Asheville, including a six-game hitting streak from Aug. 11-16 in which he went 11-for-24 at the plate to propel him to the top of the SAL batting race. Hoelscher's steady performance has the second-place Tourists in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Southern Division, which he says is his primary goal while adding to the fun of playing the game for pay.

"I have friends from school who are in commercial banking or real estate and they're doing very well," Hoelscher said. "I'll tell them, 'I wish I was making the kind of money you guys are.' Their response is, 'Shut up, man. I'd trade you in a heartbeat.' And I realize they're right. I'm having a great time doing exactly what I want to be doing. I'm just going to see how far this takes me and I'll go from there."

In brief

High-performance machine: The prospect-laden Greenville Drive became even deeper when the Boston Red Sox promoted outfielder Andrew Benintendi from Lowell in the New York-Penn League earlier this week. The seventh overall selection in the 2015 Draft and the reigning Golden Spikes Award winner, Benintendi hit .290 with seven home runs, 15 RBIs and seven steals in 35 games at Lowell. Ranked as Boston's No. 6 prospect, Benintendi joins second baseman Yoan Moncada (No. 1), third baseman Rafael Devers (No. 2), shortstop Javier Guerra (No. 7) and third baseman Michael Chavis (No. 11) in Greenville. Benintendi is also reunited with former University of Arkansas teammates Jalen Beeks and Michael Gunn.

Welcome back: Pablo Reyes missed a week with a leg injury but returned to the Power lineup with a vengeance Aug. 18. The West Virginia second baseman went 2-for-3 with a homer and a sacrifice fly to drive in four of the Power's seven runs. The big fly was his 11th of the season but his first three-run shot.

Streaking update: Kannapolis' Michael Suiter saw his hitting streak end Aug. 14 at 23 games, the longest string in the SAL thus far in 2015. Hickory's Jairo Beras had his 21-game streak come to a halt Aug. 11. As a result, Lakewood's Herlis Rodriguez owns the longest active streak at 19 games, which is the third-best in the league this year. Rodriguez is batting .338 (27-for-80) over that stretch.