MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—Alex Meneses was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 35th round of Major League Baseball’s Rule 4 draft on Wednesday, June 7.

Meneses, who set Barry career records with 211 runs and 156 walks, is the third Buccaneer drafted in the last five years (Joey Apotheker—33rd round, Marlins and Ricky Sanchez—31st round, Red Sox).

Meneses is the only freshman in school history to post a .400 batting average and led the team in hitting in three of his four seasons. His senior year was one of his best as he posted a career-high .515 on-base percentage and scored 65 runs on 76 hits and 55 walks, while stealing 19 of 21 bases from his lead off spot.

Update
After a stint at the Mariners' extended spring training, Meneses was assigned to Seattle's Arizona Summer League affiliate, the Peoria Mariners. The P-Mariners' season runs from June 22 to August 29 and consists of 56 games. Meneses will report immediately.

He will be providing updates from his rookie season. Check back.

Its been about two weeks since we won the championship. The whole championship series was awesome. We ended up winning it in game five by the score of 2-1. We lost two of the first three games, but came back to win game 4 and then won game five 2-1 to become the California League Champs. We were underdogs throughout the whole playoffs. We were supposed to lose both series in four games according to milb.com (Minor League Baseball website). In game five, we were tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eigth with two outs and a man on first. Our fourth batter, Johan Limonta doubled in the gap on 3-2 count to score Reed Eastley from first. Our closer, Jose De la Cruz, then came in to get the save in the ninth and clinch the championship in front of our home crowd. After the game they had the trophy presentation and then we had our celebration in the clubhouse with champagne and beer. This was a perfect end to a great first season in pro ball. I couldn't have been any luckier.
For the playoffs I played in 4 games where we went 3-1.

We are headed to the championship. We won a wild one last night to clinch the Southern Division Championship. We were trailing 5-0 in the eigth inning with one out when we scored six runs to go ahead. We then we added three more in the ninth to win 9-5. I came in the eigth inning with two outs and a man on first to pinch hit for our third baseman Ronnie Prettyman who is a lefty batter. At the time they had a lefty pitching. When I was announced as the pinch hitter, they brought in their closer who had been lights out. On the first pitch, our runner at first Jack Arroyo stole second. Then with two strikes, I hit a ground ball to short that ate up the shortstop and reached base. Then Josh Womack got a hit to tie the game and Jeffrey Domonguez singled up the middle to drive me in on a close play at the plate for the go ahead run. It was definitely an incredible game and an incredible experience. After the game we had a big time celebration back at our clubhouse. We now await to see who we will play in the championship. It will either be San Jose (Giants) or Visalia (Devil Rays).

For the regular season I finished hitting .270 (31-115) and a .373 on base percentage which was one of the highest on the team. In total with rookie (.387) and High A (.270) I finished hitting .295 (43-146) and had a .398 on base percentage.

We only have 5 games left in the regular season. We are only one game out of first. Right now, I am hitting .276 (29-105). I have had some tough luck this last week hitting the ball hard but right at people. I guess it hasn't gone unnoticed, though, because they have had me playing everyday, mostly at dh and hitting second. Two days ago we got into a benches clearing brawl that lasted about two minutes. There was a play at the plate where the runner had room to slide but instead he went ahead and trucked our catcher, Omar Falcon (my roommate), who didn't have the ball yet. When they both got up the runner told Omar, "Move out of the way b*tch." Omar then threw a punch at him and the benches cleared. There were fights breaking out all over the place and there was a huge pile at home plate where Omar was. The runner was High Desert Mavericks' catcher, Tommy Duenas, who is also from Miami. Both Omar and Tommy had bad blood from before. There is a great picture on the internet of Omar and Tommy. (You can read about the game and the brawl and see the photo on the Victorville Daily Press web site by clicking here.) Everyone on our team got fined $50, while Omar and another pitcher of ours got fined $150.

We only have 13 games left in the regular season and we are 2.5 games out of first. We play 9 out of our last 13 at home, where we probably have the best home record in the whole minor leagues at 48-17. Our playoffs start Saturday, Sept. 9. We have a bye the first round since we won the first half. We would have to win 2 best-of-five series to win the championship. Right now I am hitting .304 (24-79) and playing every other day at a different position. On Monday, two pitchers from the High Desert Mavericks (KC Royals affiliate) threw a no-hitter against us and yesterday our pitcher took a no-hitter into the seventh. We think it would have probably been the first time in league history where two no-hitters were thrown on back to back days.

We have only twenty games left in the regular season and we are one game out of first. Everybody who was injured has already returned and I am still getting playing time. The last two games I have played third base and batted second in the lineup. I have had some tough luck at the plate this last week. I have been hitting the ball hard but right at people and some of the plays have been web gems. I am currently hitting .308 (20-65). The other day we faced the Giants first rounder, Tim Lincecum, who was throwing 96-97 mph. He will probably be in the big leagues soon. Yesterday we played against the Lake Elsinore Storm, the affiliate of the San Diego Padres, and Ryan Klesko was the DH for them. He is down here on a rehab assignment. Playing against him was a good experience as it is always exciting to play against major leaguers, especially guys that have made a name for themselves.

Right now we are 1.5 games in first place with 3 weeks left in the season. I am currently hitting .340 (16-47), but now I probably will not be playing every single day like I was because one of the infielders who was injured is back. I don't know how often I will play but from the looks of it it looks like I will probably be here for the rest of the season and the playoffs. If that's the case this summer has been a dream. Never did I ever think as a 35th rounder I would play in High A as a first-year player. If by any chance they send me somewhere else, I feel like I have proven myself to be able to play at this level.

Its been almost a week and a half since I have been here. Everything has been great. We just finished a seven-game homestand and are in first place now. Playing at home was exciting, especially on the weekend. On Saturday we had 5,000 + fans watch us win in eleven innings on a walk-off homer. Now we are in Modesto for a three-game series. I am still starting everyday, but now they have me playing shortstop. I have played in 9 games and I am currently hitting .300 (9-30) with a double and three RBI. They have a picture of me on our home website which is www.ie66ers.com. Just click on my name on the roster and it should come up.

This whole week has been crazy. I got the phone call on Monday night that I was getting moved up to High A, which is a pretty big jump from rookie league. I had to be packed and ready to go by Tuesday morning and catch a flight to L.A. and meet up with the team (Inland Empire 66ers) in Lancaster for the remaining three games of the four game series.

I don't know if my promotion is going to be permanent for the rest of the season or for a short time based on what they told me when they called me to tell me I was getting moved up. There are a couple of players who are injured here, so I might just be here until they are healthy again, but in this business you never know what can happen. Today, will be the first time I will play at home here in San Bernardino. I just moved in to a dorm here in San Bernardino with Omar Falcon (a catcher on our team), whom I have known since I was twelve.

The first road trip in High A with the 66ers was pretty exciting. It was at Lancaster where the Diamondback's affiliate (Jethawks) plays. I got to start two of the three games that I was there for and went 3-7 with 2 walks.

We are almost at the half way point of the season. I have played in 9 games and am hitting 12 for 31 (.387). I started playing a lot more often, but then I got taken out pretty bad at second base turning a double play. For a second, I thought I might have broken a bone in my leg. It turned out to be a very bad bone bruise that left me with a bump the size of a golf ball on the side of my knee. I sat out a couple games but played the third day. I was playing in pain with not too much mobility. The next day it was hurting again but I just kept getting treatment and may have been held out the next two days because they noticed I was hurting. Now Nomar Garciaparra's brother (Michael) is down here rehabing from Triple A. He is a second baseman, so he is going to play every day that he is here. I reaggrivated my knee again today during drills so the trainer wants me to sit out a couple more days without doing anything. Hopefully after this I will be fine. I'll let you know when I play again.

After the first week of games we are 4-3. We play four days in a row and take the fifth day off. I have started three games. They have me playing second base. Since there are two other second baseman play time has been limited because all three of us have to play. I started the first game of the season and went 2-3 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk. So far, I am 4 for 10 with 2 walks, 2 RBI, 2 runs, and a stolen base. I will keep you up to date every week on how the team and I are doing. The games have all started at 10: 30 am because the mid-day heat is too much to take as it is usually 110-115 every day. The second half of the season we play at night.