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

May 27, 2019 - Eastern League (EL1) News Release

Akron RubberDucks outfielder Ka'ai Tom runs the bases
(Akron RubberDucks, Credit: David Monseur)

Akron RubberDucks outfielder Ka'ai Tom has been selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for the period of May 20th-May 26th. The 24-year old batted .450 (9-for-20) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBIs, five runs scored, four walks, and a .850 slugging percentage in six games for the RubberDucks last week. Tom, who is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, reached base at least once in all six games he played in last week and had a pair of multiple hit games, including going 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs in a 6-3 loss against the visiting Richmond Flying Squirrels on Saturday. The 5'9", 190 lb. slugger led all Eastern League hitters in slugging percentage (.850) and OPS (1.392) last week and tied for the league lead in batting average (.450), runs scored (5), hits (9), and total bases (17). He also ranked among the weekly league leaders in on-base percentage (.542-2nd), home runs (2-tied 2nd), doubles (2-tied 6th), walks (4-tied 8th), and RBIs (4-tied 10th). Ka'ai was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of the University of Kentucky.

Casey Mize, a right-handed starting pitcher for the Erie SeaWolves, has been selected as the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the period of May 20th-May 26th. The 6'3", 220 lb. hurler started two games for the SeaWolves last week and had a record of 2-0 with 12 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA. Mize, who is a native of Springville, Alabama, made his first appearance of the week on Monday at Hartford and fired six shutout innings in Erie's 3-1 victory. He scattered three hits while striking out six batters and walking one to earn the win. Casey made his second start of the week on Sunday against the visiting Bowie Baysox and threw eight scoreless innings to lead the SeaWolves to a 3-0 win. He struck out six batters and walked two while giving up just four hits as he improved his record to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.40 in six starts with the SeaWolves this season The 22-year old led all Eastern League pitchers in innings pitched (14.0) last week and tied for the lead in ERA (0.00) and wins (2). He also finished ranked among the weekly league leaders in strikeouts (12-tied 3rd), WHIP (0.71-7th), and batting average against (.152-9th). Casey, who is rated by MLB.com as the sixth best prospect in Minor League Baseball, was selected by the Detroit Tigers with the first overall pick of the 2018 draft out of Auburn University.

Akron RubberDucks outfielder Ka'ai Tom (David Monseur)

Akron RubberDucks outfielder Ka'ai Tom runs the bases (David Monseur)

Eastern League Stories from May 27, 2019

• Kivlehan's 5-For-5 Day Leads Fisher Cats to 9-2 Win on Memorial Day - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
• Yard Goats Streak Hits Wall with Kivlehan Performance - Hartford Yard Goats
• SeaWolves Come from Behind to Beat Bowie 4-1 - Erie SeaWolves
• Thunder Slug Their Way to Memorial Day Win - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
• Wells Dominant But Baysox Edged Late - Chesapeake Baysox
• Matheney's Slam Lifts Portland over Curve on Memorial Day - Altoona Curve
• Wagner Powers Thunder to 11-2 Win - Trenton Thunder
• Memorial Day Magic: Matheny Hits Walk-Off Grand Slam in 7-3 Win over Altoona - Portland Sea Dogs
• Morgan Keeps Richmond off Balance, RubberDucks Score 5-2 Victory - Akron RubberDucks
• Fightins drop finale to Sens 4-3 but still finish roadtrip at 5-3 - Reading Fightin Phils
• Wil Crowe Pitches and Hits the Sens to 4-3 Win - Harrisburg Senators
• Rumble Ponies Game Notes: Game #45 Rumble Ponies (27-17) vs. Trenton Thunder (27-18) - 1:05PM - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
• Erie SeaWolves vs. Bowie Baysox - Game Notes - Erie SeaWolves
• Fireworks, Human Cannonball Launch and Patrick Henry Bobblehead Highlight Flying Squirrels Homestand this Week - Richmond Flying Squirrels
• Sea Dogs Game Notes May 27th vs. Altoona - Portland Sea Dogs
• Harrisburg Senators Game Information and Starting Lineup - Harrisburg Senators
• Eastern League Weekly Award Winners Announced for May 20th-May 26th - EL1

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.