Murton to DL; Almonte, Kruml Promoted to Tampa

CHARLESTON, SC - In the first rush of second-half roster moves, Charleston RiverDogs infielder Luke Murton, who was honored in the first week of June as the South Atlantic League's Hitter of the Week, has been placed on the disabled list retroactive to June 18.  

In other RiverDogs' transactions on Wednesday, the New York Yankees announced that outfielders Zoilo Almonte and fielder Ray Kruml have been promoted to High-A Tampa in the Florida State League. 

 

Murton, a 6'4" first baseman/designated hitter and 2010 SAL Southern Division All-Star, played in 60 games in the first half and sported a .291 average with eight home runs, 23 doubles and 37 RBI. He ranks in the top five in the SAL in doubles and extra base hits.   

 

The McDonough, Ga. native was selected by the New York Yankees in the 19th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft and prepped at Eagle's Landing (Ga.) High School, where he earned Henry County player of the year honors as a senior.  His older brother, Matt, is a former Georgia Tech standout who was a 2003 first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox and was part of Boston's trade to the Chicago Cubs that involved Nomar Garciaparra.

 

Almonte, who hit .342 in his last 10 games as a RiverDog, played in 58 contests while hitting at a .278 clip with 10 home runs and 35 RBI.  A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Almonte ranks in the top 10 in the SAL in circuit clouts in being named to the SAL Southern Division All-Star team and was also a New York Penn League All-Star in 2009 with the Staten Island Yankees.

 

Kruml, who starred at the University of South Alabama, was hitting at .261 for the season which was aided by a .361 surge with seven runs scored in the past 10 outings. The former 11^th round selection in 2008 stole 35 bases with the RiverDogs over the past two seasons.

 

The Yankees will assign two more players to the RiverDogs, and their names will officially be released Thursday.

 

Charleston begins a five-game homestand on Thurs., June 24 against their in-state rival Greenville Drive, a Boston Red Sox affiliate. On the Greenville roster is James Island native Chris McGuiness, a former All-Southern Conference and All-American performer from The Citadel.  For ticket information, please contact the RiverDogs Box Office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647), or visit online at www.riverdogs.com.

 

--RIVERDOGS--