IL1 International League

International League Names Players of the Week

Published on May 7, 2018 under International League (IL1) News Release


The International League announced today that Lehigh Valley first baseman Joey Meneses and Rochester left-handed starter Stephen Gonsalves have been named the League's Batter and Pitcher of the Week for the period from April 30-May 6. Each is the first member of his respective club to claim an IL weekly award this season.

JOEY MENESES, Lehigh Valley IronPigs IL BATTER OF THE WEEK Lehigh Valley's Joey Meneses banged out multiple hits five times over the past week and led the International League with a .520 batting average, .960 slugging percentage, 13 hits, five doubles, seven extra-base hits, and 24 total bases. Along the way Meneses banged out his first two home runs of the season and over a two-game stretch Thursday and Friday he collected six hits with seven RBI to lead the IronPigs to consecutive victories over Rochester. After having entered the past week with a batting average on the season of .280, Meneses is now 3rd in the circuit with a .360 average and 5th in slugging at .560.

Joey Meneses turned 26 on Sunday. He is in his eighth season as a professional player and is currently in his first year seeing time above the Double-A level. He signed with the Phillies as a free agent this past February after having spent his entire career in the Atlanta organization. Meneses is a native of Culiacan, Mexico.

STEPHEN GONSALVES, Rochester Red Wings IL PITCHER OF THE WEEK A week ago the Twins promoted one of their top pitching prospects to Triple-A, and Stephen Gonsalves wasted no time showing he is ready for this classification. In his first week he delivered the Red Wings a pair of intradivisional victories while leading the International League with 14.1 innings pitched and 14 strikeouts. Last Tuesday he took the hill at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket and tossed 7.2 masterful innings, allowing just one hit and one walk in a 2-0 Red Wings shutout over the PawSox. Home at Frontier Field on Sunday afternoon, Gonsalves struck out nine IronPigs while scattering three hits over 6.2 frames as the Red Wings rolled to a 6-1 win.

23-year-old Stephen Gonsalves is in his sixth season since being selected by Minnesota in the 4th round of the 2013 draft. He was the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2016, and last August he was promoted to Triple-A for the first time. He has yet to make his Major League debut. Gonsalves is a native of San Diego, California.

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International League Stories from May 7, 2018


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