Daniel Cook hit .338 during June for the Augusta GreenJackets and is off to a good start in July. (Photo courtesy Augusta)
Starting to simmer
Former Owl Friday: Daniel Cook rebounded from a tough month of May to become an offensive force for the Class A Augusta GreenJackets.
Originally published on
7/2/2010
by
Chuck King
One of the first people Colby Gratton called after hitting a walk-off home run to defeat Florida International in the second-to-last game of this past regular season was his cousin.
When Daniel Cook got his hands on FAUOwlAccess.com’s video of Gratton’s blast later that night, he quickly shared it with his Augusta GreenJacket teammates.
“I had my computer on the bus and had everyone watching it,” said Cook, who last played for the Owls in 2008. “They were like, that looks like you.”
Cook says he and Gratton were like brothers growing up. In fact, Cook’s parents were in the stands to witness Gratton’s blast.
At the time, they were watching the cousin who was swinging the hotter bat.
After a decent first month of the season, Cook had a largely forgettable May in the South Atlantic League, hitting .229. Cook’s struggles continued into June before breaking out with a six-hit series at Charleston.
“I caught a couple breaks and got a couple two hit games and got my confidence back,” Cook said. “That’s when I was like, alright, let’s get this going.”
Cook put together a nine-game hitting streak in the middle of June and hit .338 for the month.
July is off to a good start, too. Cook went 3-for-3 with a double on Thursday to raise his season average to .285. Not that’s he’s noticed.
“I don’t even look at the stats, really,” Cook said. “The only time I see my stats are on the scoreboard when I go to bat.”
Stepping up: Brandon Cooney didn’t allow an earned run in June for the Class AA Bowie Baysox. …Brandon Kloess earned his first win of the season with the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators on Saturday.
Low and away: Mike McBryde hasn’t played since May 4 when an errant pitch broke his hand. Giants officials are not sure when McBryde will return to the diamond, but it likely won’t be at the Class AAA level where he was playing before the break. …Ryan Bernal has suffered losses in his last two outings for rookie level Helena Brewers, allowing nine runs – all earned – over three innings. …Mike Gipson endured his first tough outing as a pro, allowing three earned runs in two innings of work for the short season Class A Staten Island Yankees. …
Indie ins and outs: Todd Moser had been pitching well until Sunday when he allowed five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings against Lake County. He’s been working as a starting pitcher for the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League.