Will Rhymes Biography

After an impressive Major Leauge Spring Training, Will spent the 2009 season in AAA on the verge of accomplishing his life long dream of playing in the Major Leagues. After 5 years of professional baseball, Will has hit a combined .286 with 16 hr′s 225 RBI, 103 stolen bases and a career OBP of .351. While his improbable quest to play in the big leagues has not been realized yet, it sure has been one heck of a ride.

Born in Houston, Texas Will played his high school ball at the powerhouse Lamar High School. As a senior he hit over .500 garnering first team all-district and all-state honors at second base. Widely un-recruited because of his size at 5′8" 155 lbs, he ended up accepting a scholarship offer from the College of William and Mary, where he went on to become one of the best players in the school's history.

Will started for the better part of 4 years at the College but it wasn′t until a breakout junior year that professional baseball looked like an option. As a junior he earned First Team All-CAA, State, and All - Region honors by hitting 388 with 8 homeruns and 15 walks to only 12 strikeouts, with an OPS of 1.054. Will earned a contract with the Brewster Whitecaps of the prestigious Cape Cod league where he earned mid season and post season All-star awards while hitting .308. He came back for his senior year to lead the conference in hitting with a .413AVG with 6 homeruns 47 RBI and 22 SB as a captain for the College.

Will graduated Cum Laude from the College of William and Mary with a degree in Biology. Despite the gaudy numbers and the success in the wood bat Cape Cod League, Will fell to the 27th Round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft to the Detroit Tigers. With a chip on his shoulder Will headed to the New York Penn League to begin his professional career with the Oneonta Tigers. In his first taste of pro ball Will hit .328, .391OBP, .420 SLG, while walking 25 times and only striking out 15, earning New York Penn League All-Star honors, and Baseball America All-Short Season Team honors. The following year he helped lead the Low A West Michigan Whitecaps to the league championship winning the Detroit Tigers Organizational Gold Glove at 2b.

In 2007 will was promoted to High A Lakeland where he was an All-Star hitting .304, with 44 walks to 38 strikeouts, and 24 stolen bases before his mid season promotion to AA Erie. Will returned to AA Erie for 2008, his best year as a professional. He hit a combined .307 between AA and AAA Toledo, with a 62 RBI leading the league with 158 hits. He hit .400 with men on base, .397 with runners in scoring position, and .364 against lefties (Will hits LH). He was named Detroit's Organizational Hitter of the Year by MLB.com and spent the off season in the Arizona Fall league.

Will earned his first non roster invite to Major League Spring Training in 2009. He made a splash hitting 2 homeruns in his first 11 at bats, including a 3 run homerun off Yankees reliever Brian Bruney. Expected to be among the first cuts, Will survived until the end of March receiving valuable playing time against the best in the Major Leagues. The experience of working out and playing with big leaguers like Miguel Cabrera, Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen was one of the highlights of Will's career and a great learning experience. While he suffered some growing pains, striking out badly against future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine, he impressed Jim Leyland enough to say that he would "play in the Big Leagues" and left camp hopeful for a big 2009. While the 2009 season was disappointing for Will, hampered by an injury and a very slow start, he still managed hit .297 off lefties, to steal 20 bases, and committed only 4 errors while playing 2B, 3B, SS, LF and CF. He is hopeful that 2010 will be the year he reaches the Major Leagues.