The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN a season that got off to an unfavourable start, Anfernee Seymour continues his progression in the minor leagues and reached a new career milestone within the Miami Marlins organisation.

Seymour was promoted to Double-A baseball for the first time in his career when the Marlins assigned him to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Saturday.

Based out of Jacksonville, Florida, the Jumbo Shrimp are the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate and play in the Southern League. At a record of 22-31, they are currently ranked fourth in the league’s southern division.

In Seymour’s final game with the Jupiter Hammerheads, he went 2-4 at the plate in a 4-2 loss to the Palm Beach Cardinals on Friday afternoon.

After being released by the Atlanta Braves (Florida Fire Frogs) on May 6, Seymour was signed by the Miami Marlins on May 10 and was subsequently assigned to the Jupiter Hammerheads.

He struggled early this season with the Fire Frogs prior to his release and was batting just .195/.242/.287 with 28 strikeouts in 87 at bats.

His season underwent a complete turnaround with the Hammerheads and recorded hits in nine of his first 11 games.

In 16 games with the club, Seymour is hitting .306 with an .816 OPS and .468 slugging percentage.

In his Hammerheads debut, Seymour opened 2-4 with a two-run home run in an 8-4 loss to Lucius Fox and the Charlotte Stone Crabs. His two home runs this season represent a career high in his four-year minor league career.

The 22-year-old outfielder also recorded 19 hits, 29 total bases, four doubles, six RBI and five stolen bases.

In 2017, Seymour was promoted to Class-A advanced and joined the Fire Frogs last May.

Prior to the promotion, he was enjoying his most successful season at the plate in his minor league career with the Rome Braves. Through 28 games with the Braves in the South Atlantic League, Seymour hit .287 with six RBI, an OBP of .345 and snagged eight stolen bases in 11 tries.

With the Fire Frogs, Seymour appeared in 78 games in the Florida State League. He hit .287 with 17 RBI, an OBP of .346, OPS of .711 scored 42 runs and stole 17 bases.

Despite playing in just 78 of the team’s 118 games, he ranked fourth on the team in hits (84), fourth in triples and second in stolen bases.

Last season, Seymour’s year came to an abrupt end before he had an opportunity to suit up in the Offseason Arizona Fall League.

He was suspended for “violation of team rules,” according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo and was removed from the roster of the Peoria Javelinas.

He concluded his season with the Fire Frogs with his best month of the 2017 campaign and rose eight spots in the Braves prospect list over the course of the season.

Seymour was drafted out of American Heritage in Plantation, Florida, and was taken by the Marlins with the 197th pick in round seven. He was traded from the Marlins to the Atlanta Braves in a three-player deal which also saw the Braves acquire pitcher Michael Mader in exchange for relief pitcher Hunter Cervenka.