MWL1 Dayton Dragons

July Players of the Month Nominees Announced

Published on August 10, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


DAYTON, OH - For the fourth consecutive season, the Dayton Dragons and 1410 ESPN Radio WING AM have teamed up to honor the Dayton Dragons 1410 ESPN Radio Hitter and Pitcher of the Month. Fans can log on to www.daytondragons.com upon the completion of each month and vote for who they feel were the best Dragons players over the past 30 days.

Each month, three hitters and three pitchers will be selected as nominees based on their performances on the field. The hitting nominees for the month of July are Josh Fellhauer, Miguel Rojas, and Byron Wiley. The pitching nominees are Matt Fairel, Jordan Hotchkiss, and Curtis Partch.

The winning players for the month of July will be honored on Thursday, August 13th during an inning break of the game against the West Michigan Whitecaps. Mark Neal, Program Director for WING-AM and host of Dayton Sports Scene, will present the award to the winning players on the field. There will also be a Player of the Month luncheon on August 14th at Bob Evans Restaurant on 7400 Miller Lane in Dayton at 12:00 noon. Fans may attend to ask questions to the winning players and receive autographs. The players will be available to the media for interviews.

Below are the nominees for July (with stats for the month of July):

Hitter of the Month Nominees:

- OF Josh Fellhauer - Hit .299 with four home runs and 13 RBI in the first month of his professional career. Led the team with 16 runs scored while smacking a team-high ten doubles. Hit home runs in three consecutive games from July 19-22. All four of his home runs either tied the game or put the Dragons into the lead. Also had a 14-game hit streak.

- SS Miguel Rojas - Led the Midwest League with a .385 batting average, raising his season average 41 points over the course of the month. Knocked in 13 runs while scoring 12 and ranked second on the team in OPS (On-base-Plus-Slugging) at .867. Had 12 multi-hit games, including a 4-for-4 night on July 18th against Beloit.

- OF Byron Wiley - Hit .341 with a team-leading six home runs and 23 RBI. His six homers led the Midwest League, while he ranked second in runs batted in Ranked second on the team with seven doubles and a triple while scoring 14 runs. Led the team in both on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.637) for an OPS of 1.082. Hit three home runs in a game at West Michigan on July 5th, driving in six runs. Hit in 23 of 25 games played, raising his season batting average 40 points. Went 4-for-4 and came a triple short of the cycle on July 12th at Cedar Rapids.

Pitcher of the Month Nominees:

- LHP Matt Fairel - Went 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA in five starts. Led the team in strikeouts (29) and innings pitched (31.2) while only walking seven batters. Went at least six innings in four starts and totaled three quality starts. Struck out seven in back-to-back outings against Cedar Rapids and Beloit.

- RHP Jordan Hotchkiss - Led the Midwest League with a 1.16 ERA over 23.1 innings pitched. Led all relievers with 20 strikeouts and posted an impressive .220 opponents' batting average. Pitched five scoreless innings in his first professional start on July 31st against Burlington on roughly 30 minutes notice because of another player's promotion.

- RHP Curtis Partch - Led the staff in wins (4-1 on the month) and topped all starters with a 2.32 ERA. His four wins were tied for the second most in the league. Ranked second on the team with 31 innings pitched and 22 strikeouts. Had a streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings during the month, which included back-to-back six-inning, no run starts against Clinton and Quad Cities. Tied a career-high with eight strikeouts on July 15 against the River Bandits.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from August 10, 2009


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.

OurSports Central