Hillcats Announce Team Award Winners
September 8, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
With the 2009 regular season complete, the Lynchburg Hillcats have announced the winners of the team's annual awards. RHP Matt McSwain, RHP R. J. Rodriguez and C Kris Watts were honored for outstanding individual seasons with Lynchburg.
McSwain received the team's Pitcher-of-the-Year award. In 28 appearances, including 25 starts, McSwain posted an 11-8 record with one save and a 3.43 ERA. The 24-year-old right-hander finished among the Carolina League leaders in several pitching categories. He tied for second in the league in wins (11), ranked third in innings pitched (144.1) and finished sixth in ERA (3.43). McSwain earned Carolina League Pitcher-of-the-Week honors for the week of August 16 through 23 after he pitched a complete-game shutout over Winston-Salem on August 23.
Rodriguez, who was named Lynchburg's Reliever-of-the-Year, enjoyed a banner campaign in his first season as a member of the Pirates organization. The former Padres farmhand went 6-3 with a league-leading 27 saves and a 3.08 ERA in 47 appearances with Lynchburg. The 25-year-old closer was named to both the mid-season and postseason Carolina League All-Star teams, and his 27 saves rank second on Lynchburg's single-season saves list. Chicago White Sox reliever D. J. Carrasco, who saved 29 games for Lynchburg in 2002, owns the franchise record for saves in a season. Rodriguez will pitch for Puerto Rico in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, which begins September 9.
Watts was selected as the Hillcats Most Valuable Player. The 25-year-old Lynchburg catcher was a 16th-round selection of the Pirates in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. Watts batted .291 with seven home runs, three triples, 21 doubles and 49 RBI. Watts' .291 average ranked third in the league and he led the circuit with a .405 on-base percentage. He was named to the league's mid-season All-Star team and played in the 2009 California League/Carolina League All-Star game on June 23.
Carolina League Stories from September 8, 2009
- Boston Pitcher Daisuke Matsusaka to Pitch for Salem in Game 1 - Salem Red Sox
- Blue Rocks Honor Heroes On 9/11 Playoff Opener - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Dash to Face Salem Red Sox in First Round of Playoffs - Winston-Salem Dash
- Widlansky Wins Batting Title - Frederick Keys
- Boleska Joins Great Britain For World Cup - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Daisuke Matsuzaka to Make Rehab Start for Salem on Wednesday - Salem Red Sox
- Montgomery Wins Pitcher of the Week Honors - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Kinston's Ole Sheldon is the Carolina League Player of the Week - Kinston Indians
- Hillcats Announce Team Award Winners - Lynchburg Hillcats
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.
