(Photo Credit: MILB.com)
Potomac Nationals (40-40)
Hitter Of The Week: C Spencer Kieboom (.260, 1 HR, 22 RBI’s)
Kieboom played in only five games this week, but he recorded a hit in each of the five games that he appeared in. Kieboom, who is currently on a seven game hit streak, went 6-for-21 at the plate with seven RBI’s. On June 29, against the Carolina Mudcats, he went 2-for-4 with three RBI’s.
The 24-year-old catcher had multiple RBI’s in three of the five games he played in. During the month of June, the Carolina League All-Star hit .254 with three RBI’s and two of those came in the one game vs. the Braves’ affiliate. It’s been a solid season for Kieboom and the young catcher will look to keep that hit streak going this week.
Honorable Mention: CF Alec Keller (.440, 0 HR, 3 RBI’s)
Keller makes the list for the first time since being promoted from low-A Hagerstown to Potomac a week ago along with first baseman Grant DeBruin, who hit his first home run in high-A. In three of the six games he played in, the 23-year-old hit in the number nine spot, but he put up some quality production.
Keller went 11-for-25 with three RBI’s this past week. Nine of those 11 hits came within a three-day period (July 2-July 4). On July 4 against Wilmington, Keller went 4-for-6 with a double, a triple, and two RBI’s. He had the walk-off hit in that game when he singled in the bottom of 14th. That game, which finished on July 5, was suspended on July 4 due to fog in the 13th inning. With Hagerstown, he hit .302 with 74 hits and 18 RBI’s in 61 games.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Nick Pivetta (7-4, 2.29)
As I mentioned in the opening slide, it was an excellent week for pitchers in the Potomac rotation. Yesterday, Pivetta was on the verge of history when he retired the first 19 Wilmington hitters he faced before Jack Lopez reached on an infield single. Nevertheless, Pivetta was dominant in this one. He went seven innings, gave up one run two hits, struck out nine, and did not walk a batter.
Earlier in the week, Pivetta pitched on June 30 against Carolina and gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked three in a no-decision. Over his last 20 innings, the 22-year-old right-hander has given up three runs on ten hits and struck out 20 batters. He went 3-0 in four starts during the month of June with a 2.63 ERA.
Honorable Mention: SP Lucas Giolito (3-4, 3.08)
In his lone start of the week on July 1, Giolito entered the game for Aaron Barrett after his rehab appearance and was able to shut down the Frederick lineup. He threw seven no-hit innings, struck out seven batters, and walked one. This is impressive because it showed the potential Giolito has to be unhittable and that he hadn’t pitched a full game after his start against Wilmington on June 25 got postponed due to rain.
During that outing against the O’s affiliate last Wednesday, Giolito induced nine groundball outs in addition to the seven strikeouts. In the month of June, the 20-year-old right-hander went 1-0 in five starts with a 2.31 ERA. He struck out 30 batters and walked eight in 23.1 innings of work. He will be heading to Cincinnati this week to take part in the Futures Game.
Next: Low-A