A.J. Reed named All-Pacific Coast League first baseman

FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno Grizzlies first baseman A.J. Reed has been named to the All-Pacific Coast League Team for the 2018 regular season. Among the PCL leaders in several offensive categories, the fifth-year pro is also on the precipice of multiple all-time franchise marks. He will be named the club's Most Valuable Player for this season by the front office at the end of the current homestand, on Thursday, August 30 in a pre-game recognition.
 
As of August 27, Reed leads all of Triple-A (by 15) with 106 RBI, and is on pace to drive in 112 runs, which would set a new single-season franchise record; Scott McClain drove in 108 runs for the 2008 Grizzlies. Reed already owns the single-season mark for most RBI by a Houston Astros-affiliated player for Fresno, eclipsing the 104 RBI he collected in 2017, which had been tied with 2015 PCL MVP Matt Duffy. The left-handed batter owns two of the 10 individual 100-RBI seasons during the first 21 years of Fresno Grizzlies Baseball. He made his Major League debut in 2016, and has played 48 career MLB games.

Reed's two-run homer on Saturday, August 25 during a 7-6 win over Salt Lake moved him into third all-time in Grizzlies history in RBI with 260 in a Fresno uniform, passing Damon Minor (259). The victory clinched the Pacific Northern Division for Fresno, their second division title and playoff berth in four seasons with the Astros. Reed trails only Brett Pill (315) and Todd Linden (325) on Fresno's Triple-A RBI list. He has the most career Grizzlies RBI among Astros-affiliated players.
 
With a shot at the 30-home run plateau for the third time in four seasons, Reed is leading Triple-A in homers for a consecutive season. His 27 homers so far in 2018 has increased his career total with the Grizzlies to 76, with a chance to move into second on the franchise's all-time list. Only Minor (79) and Linden (84) have more homers in Fresno's Triple-A history. A season ago, Reed won the Joe Bauman Award for hitting the most home runs in all of Minor League Baseball, going deep 34 times for the Grizzlies. It was the second time in three seasons Reed earned Bauman honors, after also hitting 34 homers in 2015 between A-Advanced Lancaster (California League) and Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas League).
 
Reed's 55 extra-base hits are third-most in the PCL, and his 228 total bases places him third in the league. Homering once every 17 at-bats, it's the fifth-best ratio in Triple-A this season. 
 
A second round selection of the Astros in the 2014 First Year Player Draft, Reed played three seasons at the University of Kentucky as a duel threat slugger and pitcher. Following his junior season (2014), Reed was named SEC Player of The Year and overall SEC Athlete of The Year, due to his hitting and pitching prowess. He was also named the Golden Spikes Award winner, the "Heisman Trophy" of baseball, as NCAA Baseball's National Player of The Year. The 25-year-old is a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, and he and his wife Shelbie were married prior to the 2016 season. 
 
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