St. John's University Athletics
Witkowski Signs Free Agent Contract With Houston Astros
6/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 13, 2011
QUEENS, N.Y. - Four-year letterwinner Joe Witkowski has signed a free agent contract with the Houston Astros becoming the fourth St. John's player to be drafted or signed this season. Joe Panik (San Francisco Giants, 29th overall), Paul Karmas (San Diego Padres, 773rd overall) and Matt Wessinger (Kansas City Royals, 1,116th overall) were all drafted in the 2011 MLB Draft.
An outstanding defensive catcher, Witkowski threw out 35.3 percent (49-of-139) of base stealers for his career, including a career-best 37.7 percent (20-of-53) as a redshirt junior in 2010 and 37.3 percent (19-of-51) as a redshirt senior in 2011. Witkowski also boasted a career fielding percentage of .993, committing just seven errors in 955 total chances.
The catcher set a new career-high with 22 RBI this past season and tied a career-high with six doubles. Witkowski had his best offensive season in 2009, batting .357 with six doubles, four triples, one home run and a .600 slugging percentage.
