Topps Southern League Player of the Month Award
September 3, 2009 - Southern League (SL1) News Release
MARIETTA, GA - Tennessee Smokies outfielder Tyler Colvin has been named the Topps Player of the Month for August, as selected by Southern League field managers. The Topps Company of New York, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, presents the award each month to the top performer in each of the 10 full-season leagues. After driving in 80 runs for the Smokies in 2008, Colvin began the 2009 season in Single-A Daytona to play designated hitter and allow his throwing elbow to recover from offseason Tommy John surgery. While the 2006 first round pick struggled in 32 Single-A games, he rejoined the Smokies in late May and picked up right where he left off a season ago.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound outfielder has batted .304 with 13 homers and 44 RBI in 80 games with the Smokies this season. Colvin is 75 at bats shy of qualifying as a league leader in offensive categories; otherwise, he would lead the circuit with a .526 slugging percentage and rank seventh in batting.
In the two months before Colvin's arrival, the Smokies were 21-30, batted .256 as a team and scored just 3.78 runs per game. After adding Colvin to the lineup, Tennessee is 45-38, has raised its batting average nearly 20 points to .275 and is scoring 4.33 runs per game. They currently rank second to Birmingham in team batting average.
While the Smokies have benefited from Colvin's presence in the lineup since June, he really turned it on in August, leading the league with a .379 average and 22 RBI. He also ranked second with six homers and blasted long balls in back-to-back games twice during the month. He recorded 10 multi-hit games and drove in two or more runs on four occasions.
Colvin, a native of Augusta, Ga., has been named Southern League Hitter of the Week twice in the last five weeks and tied a league record with hits in 11 consecutive at-bats from July 31 - August 2.
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Southern League Stories from September 3, 2009
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- Suns Blank Stars on Thursday - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Barons Outlast Lookouts, 9-5 - Chattanooga Lookouts
- Suns Shut Down Stars to Start Series - Huntsville Stars
- Colvin wins Topps Award - Tennessee Smokies
- Three Additions for M-Braves - Mississippi Braves
- Final Homestand at Hank Aaron Stadium Starts Tonight - Mobile BayBears
- Jaxx Update - Jackson Generals
- Augenstein Back to Phoenix - Mobile BayBears
- Krebs Promoted to Louisville; Beal to Sarasota - Carolina Mudcats
- Topps Southern League Player of the Month Award - SL1
- Eldridge Promoted to Durham - Montgomery Biscuits
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