Mankato, MN)—The Mankato MoonDogs Baseball Club, a member of the Northwoods League, is proud to announce the first member of a Mankato franchise has made his major league debut. Curtis Granderson, a member of the 2001 Mankato Mashers, was called up by the Detroit Tigers on September 14th.

After playing for the Mashers in 2001, Granderson was drafted in 2002 out of the University of Illinois-Chicago, by the Detroit Tigers. Selecting him in the 3rd round with the 80th pick in the 2002 draft, the Tigers have high expectations for the 5-tool outfielder.

Earlier this spring, the 6’1”, 185-pound Granderson was selected as the 8th best prospect in Detroit’s farm system by Baseball America, and showed why over the course of the summer. Granderson, who helped the Erie Seawolves (AA) to the Eastern League playoffs, finished 2004 with a .301 batting average, 21 home runs and a team best 94 RBI. He also led Erie with 139 hits, 89 runs, eight triples and 237 total bases.

Granderson made his major league debut on Tuesday night, September 14th, against the Minnesota Twins. He finished the game 0-for-4, making the game’s final out against all-star closer Joe Nathan.

"Would’ve liked to have had a different outcome from a team standpoint and also an individual standpoint," Granderson said. "But hey, I’ve gone 0-for-4 before."

In 2001, Granderson was a key member of a Mashers team that missed the playoffs by just one game. He led the team with a .328 batting average while scoring 28 runs and rapping out 44 hits in just 44 games.