Alexis Israel Rios was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round (19th overall) of the 1999 amateur entry draft. He was born on February 18, 1981 in Coffee, Alabama . With Alexis Rios on their roster, the Jays have always hoped to give the Red Sox and Yankees a run for their money. He made his Major League debut on May 27, 2004 . As an amateur player in 1999, he was named ninth best prospect in Pioneer League by Baseball America . Also he played briefly for Caguas , Puerto Rican League. He began the 2000 season with Single-A Hagerstown of the South Atlantic League but was shifted to Class-A Queens of the New York-Penn League after 22 games. He finished second in the New York-Penn League with one strikeout every 10.18 plate appearances and amassed 14 multi-hit games and knocked in 25 runs. In 2001, he raised his average from .233 to .268. 2002 was his first season at the Double-A level, in which he recorded career-highs in almost every offensive category, including runs (86), doubles (32), home runs (11), RBI (82), BA (.352), SLG (.521) and OBP (.402) and was named a Double-A All-Star by Baseball America . In the Blue Jays minor league system he earned a tremendous success. In 2004, he was promoted and was recalled by the Blue Jays from Syracuse of the International League (AAA). With Jays minor organization he appeared in 111 games & batted .286 with one home run, 55 runs and 28 RBI. On his D-day he collected his first career hit with a seventh inning single off Jarrod Washburn. On May 28 against Texas , he collected his first RBI with a first inning single off R.A. Dickey, scoring Josh Phelps. From June 12-August 3, he increased his batting average from .180 to a seasonal high of .311 and collected a season high three RBI. He also drove in three runs on Aug. 1, a game that included his first career home run, a solo shot off Dewon Brazelton in the sixth inning. He led all rookies and ranked fourth overall in the American League with 11 outfield assists and also ranked first among AL rookies in multi-hit games (34), triples (7) and stolen bases (15). He led the Blue Jays with seven triples, 11 outfield assists and 15 stolen bases. His seven triples were the most by a Blue Jays rookie since Shannon Stewart hit seven in 1997. His 10-game hit streak has been ranked the fifth longest in 2004 by an American League rookie. Before having been recalled by the Jays he began the season with Syracuse of the International League of AAA and collected a season high four hits against Richmond . Rios has been regarded among the MLB Rookie of the Year Award candidates, but his chance seems to have been nullified by Bobby Crosby of the Oakland Athletics. |
