Pair of Javelinas Earn Player of the Week Nods
Published on October 23, 2012 under Arizona Fall League (AzFL) News Release
Phoenix, Arizona - Two Peoria Javelinas teammates - 1B Donald Lutz (Reds) and right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (Twins) - have been named the Arizona Fall League's week player of the week and pitcher of the week, respectively.
Lutz - Last week the Watertown, NY native led the league in hitting (.556), hits (10), slugging percentage (.833) and total bases (15), tied for the lead in runs scored (5), and tied for second in extra-base hits (3).
The Reds' prospect enters the season's third week as the league leader in batting (.517), hits (15), slugging percentage (.793) and total bases (23).
The 23-year-old played at three levels (rookie, High-A, Double-A) in 2012, hitting .269 with 22 home runs and 71 RBI.
In five minor-league seasons, the 6-3, 235-pound Lutz, who was signed by the Reds as a free agent in 2008, is a .277 hitter with 51 homers and 203 RBI in 335 games.
Gibson - The Twins' pitching prospect won his only start last week, allowing six hits and one run with eight strikeouts and no walks in five innings.
He leads the Fall League with 16 strikouts after fanning eight batters in each of his first two starts, both five-inning outings. He also is one of three league pitchers with two wins.
The 6-6, 210-pound Greenfield, IN product was Minnesota's first-round (22nd overall) draft choice in 2009 out of the University of Missouri. In 2012, he rebounded from 2011 "Tommy John" surgery to pitch at three levels in the Twins' organization - rookie-level Gulf Coast League Twins, High-A Fort Myers and Triple-A Rochester. He was 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA at the three stops with 33 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched.
Others Nominees - Other nominees for the two players of the week were Phoenix OF Kyle Jensen (Marlins) and Surprise 2B Kolten Wong (Cardinals) for player of the week, and Scottsdale LHP T.J. House (Indians) and RHP Kyle Kaminska (Pirates) and Mesa RHP Michael Morrison (Tigers) for pitcher of the week.
Arizona Fall League - Known throughout professional baseball as a finishing school for Major League Baseball's elite prospects, the Arizona Fall League is a six-team league owned and operated by MLB. It plays six days per week (Monday-Saturday) at six spring-training stadiums in the Phoenix metropolitan area - Mesa HoHoKam Stadium (Mesa Solar Sox), Peoria Sports complex (Peoria Javelinas), Phoenix Municipal Stadium (Phoenix Desert Dogs), Salt River Fields at Talking Stick (Salt River Rafters) Scottsdale Stadium (Scottsdale Scorpions) and Surprise Stadium (Surprise Saguaros).
This year's schedule features the seventh annual Rising Stars Game on Saturday, November 3 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and the annual championship game on Saturday, November 17 at Scottsdale Stadium.
The Salt River Rafters are the defending champions.
Arizona Fall League Stories from October 23, 2012
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
