Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (7/20-7/26)

(Photo Credit: MILB.com)

Harrisburg Senators (50-52)

Hitter Of The Week: 2B Cutter Dykstra (.269, 5 HR, 19 RBI’s)

For the second straight week, Dykstra works his way into the top hitter of the week. He has nine hits in 28 at-bats, but the bulk of his hits came in one game. On July 21 against New Hampshire, the 26-year-old went 5-for-5 with a double, a home run, and two RBI’s. The Senators won that game 13-0.

His other good performance this past week came against the Bowie Bay Sox (Baltimore Orioles) on July 24. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the 5-1 loss. He Dykstra is hitting .279 with four home runs and 17 RBI’s in 23 games this month.

Honorable Mention: LF Isaac Ballou (.306, 0 HR, 6 RBI’s)

Ballou started the season in high-A Potomac, but he has been with the Senators since June 28. This past week, Ballou went 8-for-15 at the plate with a RBI. Out of those eight hits, he had one double and one triple. Three of those hits came on July 24 against Bowie.

With Potomac this season, the 25-year-old was hitting .249 in 70 games with three home runs and 25 RBI’s. While Ballou has only played 21 games with Harrisburg, he does have a .403 on-base percentage, so he is finding ways to get on base for this Senators offense.

Pitcher Of The Week: SP Richard Bleier (8-3, 2.45)

Bleier made his final start with the Senators on July 23 against New Hampshire. While he did get a lot of run support from his offense, he did throw seven shutout innings, giving up four hits, striking out two batters, and walking none. As I mentioned before, Bleier re-joins the Chiefs for the first time since April 29, but he had a good run with the Senators.

In two starts since the Eastern League All-Star Game, the 28-year-old had a 0.64 ERA. He has pitched into the seventh inning or later in seven of his last eight starts and has pitched a shutout in three of his last five outings.

Honorable Mention: SP Austin Voth (4-5, 2.82)

Voth made two starts for the Senators this past week and had two good starts. On July 20, against Hampshire, the 23-year-old right-hander went seven innings, gave up one run on eight hits, struck out six, and walked two in the victory. Then, on Saturday, Voth shut out the Bay Sox over five innings, giving up three hits and striking out four.

The one problem for Voth in that outing was his lack of command. He did walk three batters, which had not happened in a start for Voth since July 2. He has 27 walks this season in 20 games and his WHIP is at 1.11. In five starts this month, Voth has been outstanding. He is 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA.

Next: High-A