EL1 Eastern League

Eastern League Weekly Award Winners Announced for June 20th-26th

Published on June 27, 2016 under Eastern League (EL1) News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Eastern League is pleased to announce the winners of the Eastern League Player of the Week Award and Eastern League Pitcher of the Week Award for the period of June 20th through June 26th:

Trenton Thunder catcher Kyle Higashioka has been selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for the period of June 20th-June 26th. The 26-year old batted .467 (7-for-15) with one double, four home runs, 12 RBIs, six runs scored, two walks and a 1.333 slugging percentage in four games for the Thunder last week after being activated from the DL on Thursday. Higashioka, who is a native of Huntington Beach, California, had at least one hit in all four games he played in last week and drove in multiple runs in three of those games, including going 3-for-5 with two home runs and a career-high seven RBIs in a 12-2 win at Akron on Sunday. The 6'1", 200 lb. slugger led all Eastern League players in home runs (4) and RBIs (12) last week and also ranked among the weekly league leaders in total bases (20-2nd), runs scored (6-tied 2nd) and extra-base hits (5-tied 2nd). If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, Higashioka also would have led all players in slugging percentage (1.333) and OPS (1.833) and would have tied for second in batting average (.467). Kyle, who is batting .301 with six homers and 33 RBIs in 38 games for the Thunder this season, was selected by the New York Yankees in the seventh round of the 2008 draft out of Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California.

Brandon Waddell, a left-handed starting pitcher for the Altoona Curve, has been selected as the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the period of June 20th-June 26th. The 6'3", 180 lb. hurler started one game for the Curve last week and had a record of 1-0 with eight strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA. Waddell, who is a native of Houston, Texas, made his lone appearance of the week on Friday night at Bowie and fired seven shutout innings for Altoona in a 4-0 victory over the Baysox. He gave up just three hits and one walk while striking out eight batters. With his performance last week Waddell improved his record to 5-2 in nine starts for the Curve this season and lowered his ERA to 4.44. The 22-year old tied for the league lead in ERA (0.00) last week and also finished ranked among the weekly leaders in batting average against (.125-2nd), wins (1-tied 2nd), WHIP (0.57-tied 2nd) and strikeouts (8-tied 10th). Brandon, who had a record of 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA in five starts with Class-A Bradenton before receiving a promotion to Altoona on May 3rd, was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the 2015 draft after going 5-5 with a 3.93 ERA and 89 strikeouts over 110 innings in 19 starts during his junior season at the University of Virginia.

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Eastern League Stories from June 27, 2016


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