2014 California Winter League alumni, Nick Schulz, was named the Midwest League’s Player of the Month for the month of August. Schulz plays for the Fort Wayne TinCaps, the San Diego Padres’ Class-A affiliate.

Schulz was one of the 200+ players who signed up for the California Winter League in 2014. He played for the 2014 CWL Champion, Oregon Jacks. He led the team with a .465 batting average, three home runs, and 12 RBI.

He was signed by the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League right out of the California Winter League. But prior to even joining the Boomers, he caught the attention of the San Diego Padres’ organization and was inked to a minor league deal.

Schulz joined the Padres’ Low-A Affiliate and was quickly promoted to Fort Wayne after just 12 games. His monster month of August (seven home runs, 20 runs, and 24 RBI) was enough to earn him Player of the Month honors.

Through 49 games with the TinCaps, Schulz has put together a slash line of .341/.386/.545 with a .932 OPS.

Schulz credits his success at the professional level to not only his commitment on and off the field, but also to the opportunity he received at the California Winter League.

We had a chance to reach out to Nick after he was signed by the Padres and he had this to say about the league, “The California Winter League was perfect for what I was trying to do.”

Prior to joining the CWL in 2014, Schulz had gone unsigned in 2013, but he knew he possessed the talent to play ball professionally. The CWL gave him that opportunity to be seen by scouts and managers at the professional level.

The California Winter League would like to congratulate Nick on his success with the Padres’ organization, and we look forward to seeing the new crop of young talent coming out to Palm Springs in January 2015.