The Oakland Athletics originally drafted him in the 32nd round (968th overall) and in the 23rd round (692nd overall) in the 2002 and 2003 Major League Baseball drafts, respectively. He did not sign with them either times. He signed with the Houston Astros when they drafted him in the 20th round (604th overall) in the 2004 draft.\n', '

In 2004 after being signed, Towles played at the rookie level for the Greeneville Astros. He played in just 39 games and batted .243 with no home runs. In 2005 and in 2006, he played for the Single-A Lexington Legends. He batted .345 with 5 home runs in 45 games in 2005 and in 2006, batted .312 with 12 home runs in 81 games. He was a South Atlantic League Mid-Season All-Star in 2006 and was a Baseball America Low A All-Star.\n', '

Towles worked his way up the minor leagues in 2007. He began the year with the Single-A Salem Avalanche, then the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, and by the end of the minor league season, was with the Triple-A Round Rock Express. He played a total of 100 games in the minor leagues and batted .287 with 11 home runs. He also was a selection for the All-Star Futures Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco.\n', '

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