LINCOLN — The Saltdogs added some heavy artillery to their offense Monday, signing former minor league MVP and home run champion Ian Gac.
Gac, a 27-year old right-handed first baseman, slugged 33 home runs, 31 doubles and 96 RBI in 2011 en route to Carolina League Most Valuable Player honors at Class A-Advanced for the Chicago White Sox organization.
The Seattle native has been named to six league All-Star teams over his 10 professional seasons, and was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star for the Chi-Sox in both 2010 and 2011.
Gac posted career-best figures in batting average (.284) and RBI (109) in 2008 while in the Texas Rangers system, in addition to blasting 32 long balls.
In 942 career games, Gac has hit 167 home runs, 207 doubles and driven in 587 runs. He has scored 483 runs and sports career batting and slugging averages of .251 and .457 respectively.
Gac was named a Post-Season All-Star in 2007 (Hawaiian Winter Baseball), 2008 (Midwest League), 2011 (Carolina League); and named a Mid-Season All-Star in 2008 (Midwest League), 2010 (South Atlantic League) and 2011 (Carolina League).
2013 will mark Gac’s Independent Baseball debut. He was originally selected by the Texas Rangers in the 2003 MLB draft out of Edmonds-Woodway HS (Edmonds, Wash.).
‘DOGS ACQUIRE HERALDED RHP WILLIAMS IN TRADE
The Saltdogs also acquired RHP Dustin Williams, a two-time Frontier League award winner, in a trade with Windy City for a player to be named later.
Williams went 7-3 with a 2.39 ERA in his first season in 2010 to earn Frontier League Rookie of the Year honors. In 2011, he fanned 157 batters in 144 1/3 innings to set a then-league record for strikeouts and earn All-Star recognition.
In three professional seasons, all with Windy City, the right-hander has gone an impressive 29-15 with a 3.82 ERA in 56 starts (61 games total), and has struck out 348 batters in 360 2/3 innings.
Williams, a 26-year old from Norman, Okla. pitched collegiately at Oklahoma City University.