Loons mourn Jonathan Figueroa

The Great Lakes Loons are saddened to learn of the death of former pitcher Jonathan Figueroa, a left-hander who spent part of the 2007 season with the Loons. According to reports, Figueroa suffered from complications from Lupus disease.

Figueroa turned 26 years old in September. He is survived by his wife, Katitiana, a five-year-old son, Victor, and a one-year-old daughter, Victoria.

He appeared in five games for the Loons in 2007, allowing just one run in 10 innings and striking out 17. Following his time with the Loons, he spent one season with Long Beach of the independent Golden Baseball League and two seasons with Lincoln of the independent American Association.

He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of his native Venezuela and began his professional career in 2002. In 2003, Baseball America ranked Figueroa the second best Dodgers prospect and the 35th best prospect in all of baseball.

The Great Lakes Loons are the Class A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and members of the Midwest League. For more information about the Loons, please call 989-837-BALL [2225], or visit Loons.com online.

Saltdogs.com contributed to this report.