Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (5/4-5/10)
By Ricky Keeler
Hagerstown Suns (14-15)
Hitter Of The Week: 3B Grant DeBruin (.320, 0 HR, 17 RBI’s)
In his first year in the Nationals organization, DeBruin has been on fire at the plate and this past week wasn’t any different. The 24-year old third baseman drove in eight runs over the course of six games, including three games of two RBI’s. He had nine hits during the week, including a 3-for-5 game against the Greenville Drive on Saturday, a night in which the Suns had 20 hits as a team in a 11-7 win.
With that red hot week, DeBruin now leads the Suns in hits with 31, two ahead of Jose Marmolejos-Diaz. He is in the top ten in the South Atlantic League in RBI’s and his .320 batting average is eighth in the league. Another stat that is impressive about DeBruin is he is hitting .394 in 33 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Honorable Mention: CF Dale Carey (.260, 1 HR, 9 RBI’s)
This week, Carey, who was the seventh round pick in last year’s draft by the Nationals, had ten hits in six games. On Saturday night, Carey went 4-for-5 at the plate with one RBI. In that series against Greenville, Carey went 6-for-13.
Last season, at short season Auburn, Carey hit .248 with three home runs and 18 RBI’s. He was 6-for-8 on stolen base attempts, but that is not the case in the early stages of this year. So far, he has been caught stealing in four out of seven attempts. That being said, Carey is right up there amongst the team leaders in hits as his total of 27 is tied for third on the team with Alec Keller.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Austen Williams (4-1, 1.72)
Right now, it is safe to say that Austen Williams is the best pitcher on the Suns. This week, Williams was the starter during Hagerstown offensive outburst on Saturday. It helps when you take the mound to start your outing with a 8-0 lead, but Williams kept the Drive from getting any momentum. In five innings, Williams gave up one run on six hits, struck out three, and walked one.
In six starts this season, Williams has had great control. He has only walked four batters to go with his 32 strikeouts. Williams and Phillips Valdez (1.38 ERA) are two of the top four in the entire South Atlantic League in ERA. In addition, Williams is one of four pitchers who has four wins or more on the season in the league.
Honorable Mention: SP Connor Bach (0-0, 4.56)
While Connor Bach has yet to record a decision in six games (five starts) this season, he has still had his fair share of good moments in either role. This week, as a starter, Bach had a rough time with his control, but he kept the damage to three runs. Over 3.2 innings, he gave up three earned runs on five hits, walked three, but he struck out seven. This gives him 17 combined strikeouts in his last three appearances.
On Sunday, Bach made a bullpen appearance and did not disappoint. While he did walk three batters, he kept the Drive to one hit and struck out three batters. Bach is second on the team in strikeouts with 25, behind Austen Williams. However, he leads the team in walks with 14. Bach was part of a bullpen yesterday that kept Greenvile off the board, including David Napoli, who gave up one hit over four innings and struck out six to get the win.