Don Denbow Jr.

Don Ashley Denbow

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 215 lb.

• School Blinn Junior College
• High School Corsicana High School

• Born April 30, 1973 in Midland, TX USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

The son of former first-rounder Don Denbow Sr., Don Denbow reached as high as AA (while Sr. only got to A ball).

Denbow was taken by the San Francisco Giants in the third round of the 1993 amateur draft, one pick before Ryan McGuire. In the 4th round, San Francisco took one of Don's college teammates, Jay Canizaro. In his pro debut for the AZL Giants in 1993, Denbow looked overmatched, posting a .200/.338/.315 batting line and striking out 57 times in 130 at-bats. He did lead Arizona League outfielders with a .983 fielding percentage. He was just one strikeout shy of the league lead. The Texas native improved to .247/.361/.445 for the 1994 Everett Giants with 12 home runs in 227 at-bats, though he struck out 92 times. He tied Derrick Gibson for the Northwest League home run lead and was second to Gibson in strikeouts. The slugger did not make the league All-Star outfield as Ben Grieve, Dante Powell and Chris Latham were selected.

In 1995, Denbow fell to .178/.282/.316 with 143 K in 326 at-bats for the Burlington Bees. He stole 14 bases in 16 tries and hit 12 home runs but led both the Dodgers chain and the Midwest League in strikeouts. Denbow had his best season in 1996, spent with Burlington (.278/.440/.556, 81 BB, 21 HR in 92 G) and the San Jose Giants (.371/.466/.701 in 26 G). He had 25 doubles, 27 home runs, 83 runs, 81 RBI, 20 steals (in 26 attempts), 98 walks and 153 strikeouts. He tied Brent Brede for 4th in the affiliated US minors in OBP, behind Mike Berry, Tom Evans and Scott Vieira. He led the Giants chain in both homers and Ks. He also led the MWL with 12 intentional walks. He was named an All-Star outfielder alongside Kerry Robinson and Brian Simmons.

Back with San Jose in 1997, he fell off to .248/.403/.401 with 86 walks, 138 strikeouts (in 339 AB), only 10 homers and 19 swipes (caught 12 times). He was third in the Carolina League in walks drawn, behind Stanton Cameron and Damon Minor, and ranked 8th in OBP. He ended his career in 1998 with the bakersfield Blaze (.307/.440/.446 in 29 G) and Shreveport Captains (.153/.293/.333 in 44 G).

Overall, Denbow had produced at a .240/.375/.428 rate in 505 minor league games, with 68 home runs, 286 runs and 245 RBI. He stole 62 bases in 87 tries and drew 332 walks but fanned 665 times, over 40% of his at-bats.