Outfielder Jeremy Slayden did not play professionally last year after retiring midway through the 2009 season. He began 2011 with a brief stint with the Double-A Reading Phillies, where he went 3-for-6 with two RBIs in two games prior to being released.
Slayden started the 2009 campaign at Triple-A, playing 38 games for Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs before hitting .281 with nine home runs in 46 contests at Reading prior to his retirement. In 2008, the Murfreesboro, Tenn., native posted a career year with Reading, batting .298 with career-high 17 home runs. In 2006 with the Lakewood BlueClaws, Slayden led the Single-A South Atlantic League with 44 doubles while helping the BlueClaws win the SAL Championship.
Slayden was drafted three times, eventually signing with the Phillies after being selected in the eighth round in 2005 following his redshirt-junior season at Georgia Tech. At Georgia Tech, he clubbed a Yellow Jackets’ freshman-record 18 home runs in 2002. Slayden finished his high school career with 37 homers, second all-time in the state of Tennessee behind only Todd Helton (38).
Entering 2011, Slayden is a career .289 hitter with 199 extra-base hits in 494 contests.
