Granite is the 180th former Northwoods League player and first Chinook to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Lakeshore Chinooks outfielder, Zack Granite, made his Major League debut for the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, July 8, 2017. Granite is the 180th former Northwoods League player and the first from the Lakeshore Chinooks to reach the Major League level.
Granite, who played collegiately at Seton Hall, played for the Lakeshore Chinooks in 2012. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.
In 2012 with the Chinooks, Granite played in 25 games and hit .285 with three home runs, 23 runs scored, 26 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
Granite started his Minor League career in 2013 with the Elizabethton Twins in the Advanced Rookie Level Appalachian League. Over 61 games he hit .285 with five triples, four doubles and 24 RBI. He also stole 14 bases and walked 29 times.
After earning Appalachian League All-Star recognition for Elizabethton in 2013, Granite suffered through an injury-plagued 2014 season. He began the season with the Twins Rookie Level team in the Gulf Coast League. After four games, he was promoted to the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Lo-A Midwest League. Between the two clubs he only played in 25 games and hit a combined .280 with two triples, two doubles and four stolen bases.
Granite began the 2015 season back in Cedar Rapids. After 19 games with the Kernels he was promoted to the Fort Myers Miracle of the Hi-A Florida State League. In 124 games between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers he would go on to hit .266 with 15 doubles, five triples and a career high 28 stolen bases. He also drove in 31 runs and walked 53 times.
Another promotion saw Granite spend the entire 2016 season in the AA Southern League with the Chattanooga Lookouts. Over 127 games, he hit .295 with 18 doubles, eight triples and four home runs. He also stole a new career high 56 bases and drove in 52 runs.
Prior to his call-up to Minnesota, Granite had played in 64 games between Hi-A and AAA. He began the year in Fort Myers and then was sent to the Rochester Red Wings of the AAA International League. Between the two teams he was hitting .361 with 15 doubles, five triples and three home runs. To go along with those impressive numbers, he had also stolen 15 bases, scored 42 runs and driven in 25.
In his Major League debut against the Baltimore Orioles, Granite entered the game in the 8th inning as a pinch-hitter for Ehire Adrianza. Facing Orioles reliever Mychal Givens he would fly out to left field for the first out of the inning.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, 180 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
