Gordon, Walters Named PCL Player, Pitcher Of The Week
Published on May 17, 2010 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Omaha Royals left fielder Alex Gordon and Memphis Redbirds starting pitcher P.J. Walters have been named the Pacific Coast League's Player and Pitcher of the Week for May 10-16, the league announced Monday.
Gordon, the second overall pick in the 2005 Major League Baseball amateur draft, had a monster week at the plate while playing just his second full week as an outfielder. The converted third baseman batted .500 (11-for-22), hit three home runs, collected 10 RBI, drew nine walks and played error-free ball defensively. In all, he reached safely 21 times and had a league-best 23 total bases, good for a 1.702 OPS for the week.
The Lincoln, Neb., native was the 2006 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year, hitting .325 with 29 home runs, 39 doubles, 101 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases for the Wichita Wranglers of the Texas League. He played the next two seasons in Kansas City before a series of injuries slowed his development, including a broken thumb suffered in spring training this season.
Walters, a fixture in the Memphis rotation for the past two seasons, collects his first career Pitcher of the Week award after firing 12 2/3 shutout innings in two starts for the Redbirds. He struck out a PCL-best 14 batters, walked three and allowed just seven hits. Overall, Walters is 1-0 with a 0.48 ERA on the season, with 23 strikeouts and only nine hits allowed in 18 2/3 innings of work over three starts.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander was the Cardinals' 11th-round draft pick in 2006 out of the University of South Alabama after he dominated the Cape Cod League in 2005 and was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year award in the spring of 2006.
Walters missed the first month of 2010 after he and his wife Brittney lost their prematurely-born daughter Annabelle on April 2nd, just days before the start of the regular season.
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