The inaugural Minor League Reports Player and Pitcher of the Month award for April.
ROUND ROCK
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Selecting a player of the month for April wasn?t easy as there were several deserving candidates. But, in the end we had to choose one so we chose Todd Self. Self had 64 at bats during the month and recorded 24 hits for a .375 batting average. He had 7 doubles and 1 homer and 13 RBI. Self had a slugging percentage of .531 and an on-base percentage of .460. He struck out and walked 11 times each. He committed 2 errors splitting time between leftfield and rightfield.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Choosing a pitcher of the month was easier as no Express pitcher threw the ball as consistently well as Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez started 4 games during April, winning 3 and losing 0. He finished the month with a 2.42 ERA over 22.1 innings pitched. Rodriguez allowed 19 hits, 6 walks, and 6 earned runs. He struck out 24. He allowed opposing batters to hit just .229 off him. He threw 1 wild pitch and did not hit a batter.
CORPUS CHRISTI
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Josh Anderson was clearly the best hitter during April for the Hooks. He was one of the few bright spots on the batter?s box and set the table for their less than stellar offense. Anderson in 21 games, over 90 at-bats recorded 31 hits with 2 doubles. Though he struck out 15 times and walked just 5, Anderson hit .344 with a .379 on-base percentage. He slugged .366. Anderson stole 12 bases, getting caught just 4 times. He also scored 14 runs. Anderson committed just 1 error in centerfield.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Choosing a pitcher was much more difficult so we did choose. Jason Hirsh and Fernando Nieve were so dominant that we made them co-Pitchers of the Week.
Jason Hirsh was 4-0 over 5 games started. Hirsh threw 31.2 innings and gave up 21 hits, 9 walks, 1 wild pitch, 2 hit-batsmen, and 6 earned runs. He struck out 25 and limited the opposition to a .186 batting average. He finished the month with a 1.71 ERA.
Fernando Nieve ended April with a 1.55 ERA over 5 starts. In 29 innings he allowed 15 hits, 9 walks, 1 wild pitch, and 5 earned runs. He struck out 34 and allowed a .150 batting average against. Nieve had a 1-1 record for the month.
SALEM
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Choosing a player of the month for Salem was also difficult but not in a good way. Easily the weakest team in the Astros system, none of the player shone very brightly. But, on examination of the players it was clear that John Fagan was the best hitter for the Avalanche for the month. Fagan hit .292 with a .407 on-base percentage and a .431 slugging percentage. Fagan finished the month with 21 hits over 72 at-bats with 7 doubles and 1 homer. He walked 10 times and struck out 22 time. Fagan stole 4 bases. He did not commit an error.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH
The pitching was much better with several pitchers acquitting themselves nicely in the Carolina league. However, Mitch Talbot was the best pitcher for the Avs in April. Talbot finished the month 0-2 but with an excellent 2.57 ERA over 4 starts. He threw 21 innings allowing 17 hits, 9 walks, 2 hit-batsmen, and 6 earned runs. He struck out 18, and opponents hit just .221 against him.
LEXINGTON
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
The easiest selection was Player of the Month for Lexington. Hunter Pence was the dominating force in the Legends lineup and was among the league leaders in several offensive categories. Pence hit .356 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 6 homers during April. His slugging percentage was .685. In 73 at-bats he collected 26 hits and 14 walks. His on-base percentage was .460. Pence stole 5 bases. He struck out just 9 times. Splitting time between leftfield and centerfield, he committed 0 errors.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Pitcher of the Month went to Jimmy Barthmaier. He was the most consistent pitcher on the club, which is saying something considering all starters had ERA?s under 3.50. Barthmaier earned a 1-0 record with a 1.53 ERA. Over 4 starts he threw 17.2 innings giving up 13 hits and 8 walks. He hit a batter and allowed 3 earned runs. Barthmaier struck out 19 and held opposing hitters to a .173 batting average.