Two of the the top players last season in all of independent league baseball are joining the Lancaster Barnstormers.
The team has signed outfielder Blake Gailen, the 2011 American Association batting champion, and right-hander Mark Brackman, the pitcher with the best ERA in the Frontier League in 2011, to contracts for the 2012 season.
Gailen, 26, captured the American Association batting title with a .406 mark in 69 games before being signed by the Los Angeles Angels organization in late July. His season included a 12-game hitting streak from May 22-June 10, during which he batted .538 (28-for-52). The left-handed hitter from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas added eight home runs, stole 14 bases and walked times more than he struck out (40 to 35).
Gailen’s .406 average followed seasons of .355 and .387 with Chico of the Golden League in 2009 and 2010. He signed originally with Anderson (SC) of the South Coast League in 2007.
“(Gailen) is a really good outfielder who can run,” said manager Butch Hobson in a statement. “And he hit well enough last year to get signed. I really look forward to having him out there.”
Brackman, 26, is coming off back-to-back stellar years with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League, the same franchise that produced former Barnstormers’ right-hander Scott Patterson. Brackman was 13-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 2010 and last year dropped the ERA to 2.15 despite winning only seven games.
“(Brackman) is a sinkerballer that everyone says is a bulldog,” said Hobson. “He’s been really good at keeping the ball down in the zone.”
The 6’7” native of Missouri has thrown eight complete games over the past two seasons and has a career strikeout to walk ratio of 2.91. His 2010 season included a one-hit shutout against Kalamazoo and three-hitters against Southern Illinois and Traverse City.
Overall, he tossed 24 quality starts in his 35 game-opening performances over the last two seasons and averaged better than seven innings per appearance during that time.
Brackman was signed originally by the Detroit Tigers as their 16th round draft choice in 2007 out of William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
Information used in this story was provided by the Lancaster Barnstomers.
