Miners baseball Miners re-sign Wawoe for 2020

MARION - The Southern Illinois Miners announce that they have re-signed all-star infielder Gianfranco Wawoe for 2020, adding to a talented crop of hitters for the upcoming season.

Perhaps the most-consistent hitter in the Miners' lineup this past year, Wawoe returns to the team after a 2019 campaign in which he batted .306 with 10 homers, 15 doubles, 43 RBIs, 103 total hits, and 49 runs scored.

The Willemstad, Curacao, native finished second in the Frontier League in batting average, and was voted in as a mid-season All-Star for his efforts while also striking out only 36 times against 33 walks on the season for an on-base percentage of .377.

The 25-year old came to Southern Illinois after seven seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization from 2011-17. He was a mid-season All-Star his final year with Seattle at A-Advanced Modesto, where he was teammates with Miners catcher Arturo Nieto, hitting .270 with 17 doubles, six triples, 62 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 97 games.

He also saw action at the Double-A and Triple-A levels that summer.

Wawoe enters his ninth season of professional baseball in 2020 with a career .279 batting average, 349 runs scored, 262 RBIs, 108 doubles, and 610 hits in 612 career games.

"Gianfranco had a great, all-star season for us last year," Miners manager Mike Pinto said. "His consistently-great play throughout the year both offensively and defensively was a big part of our winning season. He is a leader by example both on and off the field, and we are very excited that 'G' is coming back in 2020."