Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (5/25-5/31)

Harrisburg Senators (21-28)

Hitter Of The Week: RF Kevin Keyes (.242, 4 HR, 23 RBI’s)

The Harrisburg right fielder was one of the team’s main run producers this week. While he only had five hits in 20 at-bats, he did drive in three runs. On May 26, against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, he went 1-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs. The one concern for Keyes this week was the strikeouts. He had eight of those in six games this week.

Keyes was one of the most improved players on the team this month. The 26-year-old hit .268 in the month of May after hitting only .196 in April. Can Keyes carry that momentum from a good month of May into June?

Honorable Mention: CF Brian Goodwin (.226, 2 HR, 15 RBI’s)

Goodwin makes the honorable mention spot because he was the only player that hit a home run on the Senators this week. On May 29 against Bowie, Goodwin hit a solo shot in the seventh inning that would begin a three run comeback. Harrisburg would go on to win 3-2.

The 24-year old had a hit in four straight games up until yesterday. Out of his 26 hits this season, ten have them have gone for extra bases (seven doubles). Heading into June, Goodwin will look to get his batting average up. He hit .204 in the month of May in 25 games. Still, good to see Goodwin’s power be the sparkplug in a key game this past week.

Pitcher Of The Week: P Colin Bates (1-0, 3.29)

Bates has been one of those pitchers that have been used by the team as both a starter and a reliever. This week, he lands on the list this week because of the job he did as a starter. On May 29 against Bowie, Bates went six innings, gave up two runs on eight hits, struck out three, and walked two. Harrisburg’s three run seventh helped get Bates the win.

It is a small sample size, but Bates has a 3.00 ERA in three starts and a 3.65 ERA in six relief appearances. This month, Bates has a 2.66 ERA in five appearances. With the Senators last season, he was 1-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 39 games (one start)

Honorable Mention: SP Joe Ross (2-2, 2.81)

After a rough start on May 23 against the New Britain Rock Cats (Colorado Rockies), Joe Ross bounced back in a big way yesterday against Bowie. In seven innings of work, Ross gave up one run on three hits, struck out seven, and did not walk a batter. The 22-year-old right-hander has not walked one batter in two straight starts.

He has now given up one run in four of his last five starts. In the month of May, Ross went 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA in five starts. His command was very impressive when he walked five batters for the whole month while striking out 30. Clearly, Ross has been everything the Nats could have asked for when they traded for him this winter.

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