NL Player, Pitcher of the Week Announced
Published on July 16, 2007 under Northern League (NL) News Release
The Northern League announced that Gary SouthShore RailCats catcher Jose Yepez was named Northern League Player of the Week, and RailCats pitcher Josh Habel received the Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending July 15th, 2007.
Yepez, who was also the starting catcher for the South Division in the All-Star Game, batted .545 (6-for-11) with four RBI, one home run, and five runs scored for the all-star break shortened week. Yepez, who also went 1-for-3 in the all-star game that was played Tuesday night, currently ranks 10th in the league in batting (.327).
He also sits fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.425). On the week, Yepez worked a .706 onbase percentage and 1.091 slugging percentage. The 6-0, 215-pounder, is a nine-year minor league veteran despite having only turned 26-years-old in June.
He was originally signed as a 17-year-old, non-drafted free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays organization. After seven season with the Blue Jays where he was primarily a defensive catcher, he was granted free agency. At the time of his release from the Toronto organization, he had never played a game over Single-A and was a career .230 hitter. Since joining Gary in 2005 and playing for Pensacola (American Association) in 2006, he has batted .291 and .283 respectively. His career batting average raised 19 points to .249.
Habel, who leads the league with nine wins, picked up his seventh win in his last seven starts Sunday versus the Joliet JackHammers. It was his only appearance of the week, as he hurled 7.2 innings allowing only one unearned run while striking out four and walking none.
It marked the second straight start where he did not allow an earned run. Habel, a 6-1, 190-pound left-hander, started the season losing three of his first five starts, but has turned it around going 7-0 with a 2.28 ERA since June 5th. He is currently on a league-high seven game winning streak and is tied with RailCats teammate Willie Glen who has also won seven in a row.
In addition to leading the league in wins (9), he also ranks third in ERA (3.70) and pitched for the South Division in the all-star game. Habel, a native of Springfield, MO, played collegiately at the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA) and was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 14th round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft. After three successful seasons in the Giants organization, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Major League pitcher Dave Burba on September 2, 2004. He was released by the Brewers after only one season.
He signed with the RailCats in 2006 and went 8-9 with a 4.40 ERA over 24 starts last season. He was fourth in the Northern League with 112 strikeouts in 2006.
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