Courtney Hawkins (baseball)

Courtney James Hawkins (born November 12, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Courtney Hawkins
Hawkins with the Winston-Salem Dash in 2013
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 10
Outfielder
Born: (1993-11-12) November 12, 1993
Corpus Christi, Texas
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
NPB debut
August 30, 2023, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.226
Home runs4
Runs batted in17
Teams

Early career

Hawkins attended Mary Carroll High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. As a senior, he was the Texas Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year.[1] He was the fifth ranked high school recruit in his class by ESPN and was committed to University of Texas at Austin.[2]

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox selected Hawkins in the first round, with the 13th overall selection, of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[3][4][5] Hawkins started his career with the rookie-level Bristol White Sox of the Appalachian League. In 38 games he hit .272/.314/.401 with three home runs and 16 runs batted in. On August 12, 2012, he was promoted to the Low-A Kannapolis Intimidators of the South Atlantic League.[6] He hit .308/.352/.631 with four home runs and 15 runs batted in 16 games. He ended the season with the High-A Winston-Salem Dash after he was promoted on August 29, 2012.[7][8] Overall, he finished his first season hitting .284/.324/.480 with eight home runs and 33 runs batted in 59 games. Hawkins was ranked the White Sox #1 prospect at the start of the 2013 season.[9] He was also ranked as the #55 ranked prospect in baseball according to Baseball America and #68 by MLB.com. Hawkins spent the whole 2013 season with High-A Winston-Salem Dash. He struggled in his first full season, batting .178 with 19 home runs and 160 strikeouts in 383 at-bats.[10]

Hawkins returned to Winston-Salem in 2014,[11] batting .249 with 19 home runs and 84 RBIs. He spent 2015 with the Double-A Birmingham Barons, batting .243 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs, and 2016 with Birmingham, posting a .203 average with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs. In 2017, he played for Kannapolis, Winston-Salem and Birmingham, posting a combined .205 average with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs in 91 total games between both teams.[12] Hawkins was released from the organization on April 18, 2018.[13]

Sugar Land Skeeters

On April 26, 2018, Hawkins signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Hawkins appeared in 88 games for the Skeeters and hit .285/.342/.505 with 54 runs, 17 doubles, 18 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases.[14]

Cincinnati Reds

On August 10, 2018, Hawkins' contract was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds.[15] Hawkins spent the remainder of the year with the High-A Daytona Tortugas, hitting .246/.310/.354 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, and 3 stolen bases in 17 games.

In 2019, he played in 3 games for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts before being promoted to Triple-A. However, he struggled to find his footing in 16 games for the Louisville Bats, hitting .167/.196/.352 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI.[16] He was released by the Reds organization on May 3, 2019.

Sugar Land Skeeters (second stint)

On May 10, 2019, Hawkins signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Playing in 3 games, he went 6-for-12 (.500) with 2 home runs and 3 RBI.[17]

San Francisco Giants

On May 14, 2019, Hawkins's contract was purchased by the San Francisco Giants and he was assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Despite the assignment, he spent the year with the High-A San Jose Giants. In an August 26 game against the Stockton Ports, Hawkins tied San Jose records for hits (5) and home runs (3) in a game, tallying on 6 RBI as well.[18] In 88 games for the team, Hawkins hit .256/.314/.497 with 21 home runs and 59 RBI. He became a free agent following the season on November 7.[19]

In July 2020, Hawkins signed on to play for the Skeeters of the Constellation Energy League, a makeshift four-team independent league created as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the 2020 season. He was named to the league's all-star team.[20]

Lexington Legends

On May 4, 2021, Hawkins signed with the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[21] In Game 4 of the Atlantic League's championship series, Hawkins hit three home runs in the Legends 13–2 victory over the Long Island Ducks, clinching the franchise's first league championship.[22] Hawkins was named the most valuable player of the series.[23]

Hawkins at bat for the Lexington Legends in 2021.

In 2022, Hawkins played in 127 games for Lexington, batting .298/.399/.655 with 48 home runs, 125 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. Following the regular season, he was named an Atlantic League All-Star,[24] and the Atlantic League Player of the Year.[25] In addition, Hawkins was named the 2022 Independent Player Of The Year by Baseball America.[26]

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On December 21, 2022, Hawkins signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.[27]

References
  1. Rohrbach, Ben (30 May 2012). "Texas Baseball POY: Courtney Hawkins". Espn.go.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  2. "ESPN recruiting profile". Espn.go.com. June 4, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  3. "White Sox select outfielder Hawkins at No. 13". Chicago.whitesox.mlb.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  4. "Sox select OF Courtney Hawkins". Espn.go.com. June 5, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  5. "White Sox take Courtney Hawkins with No. 13 pick in MLB draft". Suntimes.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  6. Feldman, Josh. "First rounder Hawkins promoted to Kannapolis". Milb.com. Intimidators Media Relations Dept. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  7. Feldman, Josh. "Top pick Hawkins promoted to Dash". Milb.com. Intimidators Media Relations Dept. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  8. "Sox prospects Thompson, Hawkins promoted". Articles.chicagotribune.com. August 29, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  9. "White Sox 2013 Prospect Watch". Chicago.whitesox.mlb.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  10. "Hawkins reflects on uneven first full year in Minors".
  11. "Second time around good for Courtney Hawkins". Chicago Tribune. April 24, 2014.
  12. "Courtney Hawkins Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  13. Adams, Steve (April 19, 2018). "Minor MLB Transactions: 4/19/18". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  14. "Former first-round draft pick Courtney Hawkins reviving his career with Skeeters". houstonchronicle.com. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  15. "Cincinnati Reds Purchase Contract of OF Courtney Hawkins". August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  16. "'I never thought it was over': Reds minor-league player Courtney Hawkins getting back into the swing of things". theathletic.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  17. "Trio of Skeeters Have Contracts Purchased by MLB Teams". atlanticleague.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  18. "Courtney Hawkins ties San Jose Giants records, launches three home runs". nbcsports.com. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  19. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  20. "Constellation Energy League All-Star Team". Sugar Land Skeeters. September 3, 2020. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  21. "Legends Agree to Terms with Former Major Leaguers Josh Ravin, Mike Hauschild and 7 others". Lexington Legends. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  22. "Lexington pounds its way to Atlantic League title". wvgazettemail.com. 20 October 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  23. "Atlantic League Professional Baseball: History". www.atlanticleague.com.
  24. "Atlantic League Names 2022 Postseason All-Star Team". atlanticleague.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  25. "Hawkins hammers 48 homers to win Player of Year in the Atlantic League". heraldcourier.com. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  26. "2022 Independent Player Of The Year: Courtney Hawkins (Lexington Legends)". baseballamerica.com. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  27. "【ソフトバンク】前ロッテ・オスナ獲得も決定的　デスパイネ、グラシアル、レイは退団見込み". news.yahoo.co.jp (in Japanese). 21 December 2022. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023.
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