International League Players of the Week Named
May 13, 2019 - International League (IL1) News Release
The International League announced today that Gwinnett outfielder Austin Riley and Indianapolis right-handed starter Alex McRae have been named the League's Batter and Pitcher of the Week for the period covering May 6-12. Both players are the third member of their respective club to claim an IL weekly award this season. Riley follows Mike Soroka (April 4-7) and Andres Blanco (April 8-14) while McRae is the third Indians pitcher so honored in the past four weeks, following Mitch Keller (April 15-21) and Dario Agrazal (April 29-May 5).
AUSTIN RILEY, Gwinnett Stripers IL BATTER OF THE WEEK The International League's top slugger so far this season as been Gwinnett's Austin Riley, who leads the circuit with 14 home runs and 35 RBI. Over the past week, he paced the IL with four long balls and seven runs scored while finishing 2nd with 21 total bases and eight RBI. Behind Riley's hot bat, the Stripers have won four of their past five games and are tied for the most wins in the League for the season at 21. In addition to home runs and RBI, Riley is the current League-leader in total bases, runs scored, and extra-base hits.
22-year-old Austin Riley is in his fifth season as a professional player and his first full season playing above the Double-A level. He was originally selected by the Braves as the 41st overall pick of the 2015 draft. He entered 2019 ranked amongst the organization's top ten prospects by both MLB.com and Baseball America. He has yet to make his Major League debut. Riley is a native of Memphis, Tennessee.
ALEX MCRAE, Indianapolis Indians IL PITCHER OF THE WEEK Indianapolis starter Alex McRae took the hill to face the RailRiders at PNC Field for a Thursday morning tilt and made a run at the history books. The right-hander flirted with perfection for much of the day, not allowing his first baserunner until a walk in the bottom of the 6th. He later yielded a one-out walk in the 7th , and then with two outs he was finally chased from the game after SWB's
Mandy Alvarez broke up the no-hit bid with a double to left field. With 96 pitches thrown, McRae turned it over to the bullpen and Indy held on to win 4-2. The victory was McRae's third so far this season and lowered his ERA to 5.40.
26-year-old Alex McRae is in his sixth season as a professional pitcher. He was selected by the Pirates in the 10th round of the 2014 draft and first reached the Triple-A level in 2018, going 3-10 with a 4.77 ERA for the Tribe. He has yet to make his Major League debut. McRae is a native of West Allis, Wisconsin.
International League Stories from May 13, 2019
- Vic Gregovits Named Louisville Bats Chief Operating Officer - Louisville Bats
- Golf Night Is Tuesday, May 21 - Rochester Red Wings
- Austin Riley Named International League Batter of the Week - Gwinnett Stripers
- McRae Earns International League Pitcher of the Week Award - Indianapolis Indians
- International League Players of the Week Named - IL1
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