BlueClaws Sweep SAL Weekly Awards
Published on May 12, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws News Release
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - The Lakewood BlueClaws, class- A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, have announced that Drew Naylor and Michael Taylor have been named the South Atlantic League's Pitcher and Player of the Week respectively for the week of May 5-11.
Naylor, 21, threw a complete game two-hitter against the Kannapolis Intimidators on Saturday to improve to 3-2 on the season. He struck out 12 batters in the game, which upped his season total to 62 and now ranks first in all of Minor League Baseball in strikeouts.
Not taken into consideration for the award was Naylor's outing on May 4 in which he struck out 11 batters during an eight-inning performance in a win over Lexington.
Overall his ERA stands at an impressive 2.04 over eight starts and 53.0 innings. He has pitched at least six innings in each of his last six starts and the BlueClaws have won each of those games. He has struck out at least six batters in each start this season.
The Australian righty is in his first full season of minor league baseball after spending 2006 in the Gulf Coast League and 2007 with the Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League. Last season he led the NYPL in strikeouts (97) innings pitched (93.1) and complete games (2) while ranking second in wins (8).
Taylor, 22, was limited to just four games this week with a sore back but didn't let that stop him from hitting four homeruns and driving in 11. He went 7-for-19 (.368) to up his overall batting average to .333.
Selected by the Phillies out of Stanford in the fifth round of the 2007 draft, Taylor hit .354 in April and was honored as the Phillies Minor League Player of the Month. The leftfielder spent last season with Williamsport and collected 33 RBI on six homeruns in 66 games.
This marks the first time in team history that the BlueClaws have earned both honors in the same week. Quintin Berry and Jason Donald had been the most recent Lakewood players to be named Player of the Week. Both earned the award in 2007. Naylor becomes the first BlueClaws pitcher selected since Josh Outman in August 2006.
Former BlueClaw John Urick was named Florida State League Player of the Week this week by hitting .421 with two homeruns and seven RBI for the Clearwater Threshers.
For tickets or more information call 732-901-7000 or visit the BlueClaws website at BlueClaws.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 12, 2008
- Suns drop opener at Lexington - Hagerstown Suns
- Captains Win in West Virginia 4-2 - Lake County Captains
- Hickman's Heroics - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Cobb Start Leads to another Win - Columbus Catfish
- Augusta Wins Pitching Duel - Augusta GreenJackets
- Bats Come Alive In 7-4 Series Opening Win - Lexington Legends
- Doubront Suffers First Loss of the Season Versus RiverDogs - Greenville Drive
- Riordan and Tourists Deliver 3-2 Win - Asheville Tourists
- Greensboro hangs on for 7-5 win over Lakewood - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- RiverDogs Neutralize the Drive, 5-0 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Late Rally Falls Short For Power - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Tourists Steal Pitchers Duel, Win 3-2 - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Intimidators Pound Delmarva 17-3 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Jackets Open Road Trip with Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Kannapolis crushes Delmarva - Delmarva Shorebirds
- BlueClaws Sweep SAL Weekly Awards - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- RiverDogs Take Part in First Scouts Hall of Fame Induction Class - Charleston RiverDogs
- Greensboro Game Notes - Greensboro Grasshoppers
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.
