Former Cal Poly catcher Ross Brayton signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Padres.
Brayton’s signing is the fourth among players on the 2010 Cal Poly roster. The other three were drafted in June — junior pitcher Matt Leonard (38th round, Cincinnati Reds) and senior outfielders Luke Yoder (40th round, Boston Red Sox) and Adam Melker (44th round, St. Louis Cardinals).
Leonard is playing in the Arizona Summer League for the Reds in Goodyear, Melker is on the roster of the Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League and Yoder is with the Red Sox rookie league team in the Gulf Coast League.
Now Brayton, who hit .320 with 25 RBIs in his senior season with the Mustangs, joins his former teammates in the minor leagues; he is now a member of the Padres’ rookie league team.
Last spring, Brayton hit solo home runs at Fresno State and Arizona State. He went 7-for-13 in the season-opening USC series and produced six-game and nine-game hitting streaks. His season totals include 15 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI contests.
Brayton, who missed the final 10 games of the 2010 season with a concussion, hit .393 as a junior to help the Mustangs advance to the NCAA Tempe Regional. He had a nine-game hitting streak and compiled 15 multiple-hit games and nine multiple-RBI contests. Brayton’s lone home run was a ninth-inning three-run shot against Cal State Bakersfield.
Brayton played two seasons at Modesto College and hit .313 as a sophomore and .360 as a freshman. He was a three-year varsity starter, two-time Trans Valley League first-team honoree and landed a spot on the all-state small schools team as a senior at Escalon High, finishing 40-for-86 at the plate as both a junior and senior (.465 average).
Brayton helped Cal Poly finish the 2010 season 23-32 and 10-14 for fifth place in the Big West. The Mustangs won 13 of their last 18 games after a 10-27 start, producing just under 10 runs and 14 hits a contest in the final five weeks.