Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (6/8-6/14)

Harrisburg Senators (27-35)

Hitter Of The Week: 3B Matt Skole (.212, 10 HR, 35 RBI’s)

When Matt Skole is doing well at the plate, there is a correlation with the Senators picking up wins. This week, Skole had a great three game stretch. From June 10-June 12, Skole went 7-for-13 at the plate with two home runs and ten RBI’s against New Hampshire and Trenton (on the 12^th). The 25-year-old has a hit in five of his last six games.

The month of June has bee great to Skole. In 11 games, he is hitting .286 with three home runs and 13 RBI’s and has a slugging percentage of .524. How does it relate on the field? Well, the Senators will head into Tuesdays’ game on a five-game winning streak, a streak that started on June 10. When Skole hits the long ball, good things happen.

Honorable Mention: C Pedro Severino (.252, 3 HR, 20 RBI’s)

For the second straight week, Skole and Severino get the honor for players of the week. This past week, the Harrisburg catcher went 8-for-23 at the plate with one home run and five RBI’s. On June 8, against the New Britain Rock Cats (Colorado Rockies), he went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a solo home run, and two RBI’s in Harrisburg’s 6-4 loss.

Out of those eight hits, he had three doubles in addition to the home run. In nine games in the month of June, he is hitting .333 with one home run and five RBI’s and has a .545 slugging percentage. He may only have ten walks, but the 21-year-old is bringing the power to the catching position.

Pitcher Of The Week: SP Austin Voth (3-4, 3.56 ERA)

It’s been a while since Austin Voth was on this slideshow, but in his only start this week, Voth put up a quality start against a New Britain squad that is on top of the Eastern division in the Eastern League. On June 10, Voth went six innings, gave up three runs on four hits, struck out eight, and did not walk a batter in the victory.

The 22-year-old right-hander has gone into the sixth inning or later in each of his last three starts. Plus, he has not given up more than three runs in an outing in his last eight starts. Right now, he leads the team in innings pitched at 65.2. Joe Ross is already making his presence known in the majors. How long until Voth ends up joining him?

Honorable Mention: RP Richard Bleier (4-2, 3.46)

Even though Bleier lost one of his two outings this week, he makes the slideshow for the solid outing that he had against the Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees), a team that is third in the league in runs scored and is tied for third in home runs. On June 13, Bleier went seven innings, gave up one run on seven hits, struck out three, and did not walk a batter en route to a win.

In his last three starts, Bleier has averaged seven innings per outing. The left-hander had a tough time against New Britain when he gave up four runs over six innings in a loss, but he continues to show good consistency in the Senators rotation. Even with Ross in the majors, Harrisburg has a good trio of Voth, Bleier, and Dakota Bacus, who picked up a win and a RBI sacrifice fly during his two outings this week.

Next: High-A