SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - After a pair of fantastic seasons with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association of Proffesional Baseball, former QU baseball standout Dayson Croes was signed by the San Francisco Giants to a minor league deal on Wednesday afternoon (April 30) at the team's spring training complex in Arizona.
This comes on the heels of a very strong showing from Croes at the Baseball Champions League Americas hosted in Mexico City, Mexico earlier this month where the Noord, Aruba native led the tournament in batting average, hitting a ridiculous .706 with 12 hits and three homers, while also boasting a tournament-leading 1.353 slugging percentage, topping former major league talent like Robinson Cano and Francisco Mejia while playing for the champions of the AA, the Kane County Cougars.
Croes was a force to be reckoned with in his second season in Winnipeg in 2024, finishing in a tie for third in the league in batting average at .342, while earning his second American Association All-Star nod of his career, and helping lead his team to the championship series, where they were bested by the Kane County Cougars. All this coming after a rookie campaign that saw Croes lead the league in hits with 135, while finishing fourth in batting average hitting .351, earning him a postseason All-Star nod for his efforts.
During his time at Quincy, Croes was one of the toughest outs in the program's history, recording a .388 career batting average over three seasons, ranking third all-time in the Hawks' record books, while also putting together one of the best hitting seasons Hawks' baseball has ever seen in 2021. A phenomenal .436 batting average on the year, good for fourth in the program's history in a single season, earned Croes All-GLVC, All-Region and All-American honors, becoming one of the 16 All-Americans QU baseball has produced. The Hawks' infielder was also named All-GLVC and All-Region for his efforts in the 2022 season.
Croes is the third Hawk to sign a professional contract to play affiliated ball in the 2020's, following Chase Gockel's selection by the Los Angeles Angels in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB Draft as the 264th overall pick, and Riley Martin's selection by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft as the 184th overall pick, the highest draft selection in program history.
