Baseball in Fort Wayne

Two players who honed their craft in Fort Wayne were honored by the San Diego Padres for their performance in the m onth of May. RHP Mat Latos was named the Padres minor league Pitcher of the Month while OF Mike Baxter took home the honors as Player of the Month.

Latos, 21, made four appearances (two starts) with the TinCaps in May, then was promoted to Double-A San Antonio. He combined to go 4-0 with an ERA of 0.50 (2 earned runs in 36.1 innings). In his second Double-A start, Friday against Springfield, Latos took a no-hitter into the 7th inning before allowing a two-out single. With the TinCaps this year, he went 3-0 with a 0.36 ERA. He is rated the #2 prospect in the Padres’ organization by Baseball America.

Baxter, 24, hit .426 (49-for-115) in May for Double-A San Antonio. He hit safely in 24 of 28 games in the month and was named the Texas League Player of the Month. He was a 4th-round selection in the 2005 draft out of Vanderbilt University. Baxter played for Fort Wayne in 2005 and 2006, totaling a .246 average with 40 doubles, 4 home runs and 57 RBIs in 162 games.