Kent Gerst

Kent W. Gerst

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• High School Fort Zumwalt West High School

• Born February 6, 1988 in O'Fallon, MO USA
• Died September 8, 2012 in O'Fallon, MO USA

Minors BR page

biographical Information

Outfielder Kent Gerst spent six seasons in the minors (reaching AAA briefly) before his untimely death at age 24.

He was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the eighth round of the 2006 amateur draft, right between future major leaguers Allen Craig and Dellin Betances. The scouts were Nathan Durst and Dan Durst. He hit .236/.306/.259 in his pro debut with the Bristol White Sox and finishing with the unusual stat of having one double in 202 at-bats. Baseball America named him the fastest runner in the 2006 White Sox draft class. Back with the same club in 2007, he improved to .280/.344/.333 with 17 steals in 26 tries and 34 runs in 57 games. He was 5th in the Appalachian League in swipes.

With the 2008 Great Falls Voyagers, Gerst produced at a .275/.361/.436 clip with 36 runs in 55 games and 15 steals in 22 tries. He was 8th in the Pioneer League in steals. The Missouri native bounced around in 2009, with stops with the Kannapolis Intimidators (3 for 26, 2B, 3B, 4 BB), Winston-Salem Dash (.239/.301/.359 in 49 G) and Charlotte Knights (4 for 27, HR, 2 BB). Overall, he had just five steals in 10 tries, 65 strikeouts in 195 at-bats and a 606 OPS. That led Chicago to let him go.

He later played two seasons in the independent Frontier League. In 2010, he batted .256/.332/.327 with 29 steals (caught 8 times) between the Southern Illinois Miners and Windy City Thunderbolts, fielding .994 with 7 assists to one error. He tied for 10th in the circuit in steals. With the '11 Gateway Grizzlies, he struggled with a .228 average and .295 OBP but slugged .503 with 10 home runs in 149 at-bats after having hit 10 homers his first five seasons combined. Overall, he had hit .250/.322/.355 in 352 games as a pro, with 189 runs and 76 steals (in 117 tries).

Gerst died in 2012 at age 24 after falling from a bluff into a creek and drowning.

Sources

• 2009 White Sox Media Guide
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch