Smokies Spotlight - Justin Bour
This week's installment of "Smokies Spotlight", a weekly series that features former Smokies players and coaches highlights 2012-13 Smokies INF Justin Bour. To view previous weeks in the series, please view "Related Coverage" on the right side of the page.
Not every Tennessee Smokie that has made it to the Big Leagues since 2007, when the club became affiliated with the Chicago Cubs, has made their Major League debut with the Cubs. With trades, free agency and, in this case, the Rule 5 Draft, players can constantly be in transition, and sometimes get another shot. That is certainly the case for the subject of this week's "Smokies Spotlight": 2012-13 first baseman Justin Bour.
The left-handed hitting slugger, who went undrafted out of high school, was selected by the Cubs in the 25thh round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of George Mason University in Virginia, a school that more known to many for its Cinderella men's basketball team than baseball. Despite this, it was a banner year for the Patriots in 2009, with a record six players drafted by Major League squads. Bour was coming off a fantastic 2009 campaign, batting .339 with 17 homers and 66 RBI in 55 games for George Mason in what the university's athletics website declared "one of the top-10 seasons in school history in terms of homers and RBI". He capped off his collegiate career as one of the most formidable hitters in school history, finishing second all-time in home runs, third in RBI, fourth in total bases, sixth in slugging percentage, ninth in batting average and tenth in hits.
Bour signed with the Cubs and began his professional career on June 21, 2009. After going hitless in four at bats with three strikeouts in his very first game, the slugger naturally homered in his second, notching his first longball of his professional career the subsequent day with the Mesa Cubs. He would split his first professional season with the AZL Cubs and Short-Season Boise that year, combining for four homers and 40 RBI in 62 contests.
Bour moved on up over the next two seasons, batting .291 (138-475) with 12 homers and 87 RBI in 127 games with the Low-A Peoria Chiefs in 2010 before a breakout 2011 season with High-A Daytona. In what is more known as a pitcher-friendly league, Bour blasted 23 homers and drove in 85 RBI, adding 30 doubles while posting a .277 clip (139-502) with the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League in 133 contests, ranking second in the circuit in both homers and RBI to line him up for a promotion to the Double-A level in 2012.
It was a memorable Smokies debut for the Virginia native on April 5, 2012, recording three hits, the last of which was a solo homer against the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field in a 4-1 victory. After failing to be tabbed a Mid-Season Southern League All-Star, despite driving in 52 RBI, Bour put the league on notice in the second half, compiling a .287 mark (75-261) with 11 homers and 58 RBI in his final 70 contests en route to being named to the circuit's Postseason All-Star squad. He proved he could hit for average and for power, clubbing six of those 11 second-half homers in August, while recording a .333 average in the month of July. Overall in his first year at the Double-A level, Bour posted a .283 mark (143-506) with 17 homers and 110 RBI, finishing second in the league in RBI and total bases (230), tied for second in extra-base hits (53), as well as third in doubles (36) and fifth in hits (143).
The infielder would return to Kodak again in 2013 to add to his home run total, crushing 18 big flies while driving in 64 RBI in a total of 83 games with the Smokies. That included a two-homer game at Smokies Stadium on June 24, 2013 against the Jackson Generals, adding four RBI. The RBI machine would also tally a Smokies career-high six RBI on August 30, 2013 at Chattanooga as part of a three-hit game. Bour's 16 second-half homers helped lead the Smokies to a second half North Division title, and brought the team to within one win of the Southern League Championship Series.
There was no question about Bour's power and strength. That could not be understated. However, as is the case for many other positions in baseball, Bour seemed to be "blocked" from the Cubs roster by Chicago's cornerstone first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Bour was left off the Cubs' 40-man roster and was claimed in the Rule 5 draft by the Miami Marlins. Just like that, Bour would get another chance with a new organization; a fresh start.
He would begin the 2014 season at the Triple-A level for the first time with the New Orleans Zepyhrs, driving in an RBI in each of his first five games with the club, including a homer in his third contest against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. After dominating the Pacific Coast League with a .330 average along with nine homers and 36 RBI, Bour's contract was selected by the Marlins on June 4. The very next day, Bour made his Major League debut against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, starting as the club's designated hitter. It was a solid debut for the left-handed slugger, recording his first, and then second hit in The Bigs, as well as his first RBI. His first hit may not have been the hardest of hit balls, but it still looks the same in the box score as a hard line drive into right field.
After returning to New Orleans in mid-July without a Major League home run, Bour came back to the Marlins earlier this month in search of that milestone. Four days ago it happened, slamming his first Major League big fly on September 19 against Washington Nationals pitcher Doug Fister at Marlins Park in Miami. Like many of his home runs with the Smokies, Bour's it was a tape-measure blast, with the ball landing in the upper deck stands in right-center field.
He has fared well with his opportunity with the Marlins this season, batting .291 (16-55) with two doubles, one homer and nine RBI in 33 games with Miami and placed himself in a position to possibly make the Big League roster to begin next season.
Overall in two seasons with the Smokies, Bour tallied a .265 average (218-823) with 35 homers and 174 RBI in 221 contests for Tennessee. Dating back through the 2007 season when the Smokies first became affiliated with the Cubs, he ranks among one of the best power hitters in Smokies history, ranking first in RBI, as well as tied for second in sacrifice flies (12), third in homers, tied for seventh in doubles (53), eighth in runs scored (112) and tied for tenth in hits. He was also one of the most feared Smokies batters, ranking tied for first among all Smokies players dating back through at least 1980 with 18 intentional walks, even with Blake Lalli and Carlos Delgado.
At 26-years-old, Bour still has a long ways to go in his professional career, and has proven able to provide the power necessary at the first base position. Whether it be with the Marlins, or another club, Bour surely will have a spot thanks to that pop, with all Smokies fans supporting one of the best power hitters in Tennessee Smokies recent memory.