Northern League Player And Pitcher Of The Week
Published on July 12, 2010 under Northern League (NL) News Release
Outfielder Jonathan Wyatt of the Joliet Jackhammers was named Northern League Player of the Week, and Lake County Fielders pitcher Zach Ward received the Northern League Pitcher of the Week honors for the period ending July 11th, 2010.
Wyatt, who leads the Northern League in batting average (.340) headed into the all-star break, batted .429 (15-for-35) with five doubles, four home runs and a league-high 13 RBI in seven games played during the week. Helping lead the Jackhammers to seven straight victories, he also collected at least one RBI in all seven games and a run scored in six of seven games. He has an active 10-game hitting streak, including eight multi-hit games in that span.
The 5-10, 180-pound left-fielder was acquired by the Joliet on February 16th, 2010 as a free agent after playing the previous three seasons in the Chicago Cubs farm system. His best season came in the 2007 with Boise (Northwest League) when he was named to the Northwest League All-Star Team. In 66 games played, he batted .306 with 12 stolen bases.
The 25-year-old, left-handed hitter was originally drafted by Cubs in the 13th round of the 2007 amateur draft. He spent parts of three seasons playing in Boise, Peoria (Midwest League), and Daytona (Florida State League). Collegiately, he was a standout player for the University of Georgia (Athens, GA) where he led his team in batting and stolen bases his final two years in college and helped lead the Bulldogs to the College World Series in 2006.
Ward, who is tied for the Northern League lead with 53 strikeouts, went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA during the week for the Lake County Fielders. In his lone start, he hurled a complete game six-hit, shutout versus Rockford on July 9th. Despite hitting four batters in the game, he struck-out 13 while allowing zero base on balls. On the year, he currently ranks 11th in the Northern League in ERA (3.53) and has a 3-5 record over nine starts. Over his last three games, he has pitched at least seven innings allowing two or fewer earned runs while lowering his ERA almost a full run and a half.
Ward, who is 26-years-old, is playing his first season in the Northern League after being signed by the Fielders on April 14th, 2010 as a free agent. He came to Lake County as a former top prospect in both the Reds and Twins minor league systems. Last season, he played for both the Twins and Reds Class-AA affiliates.
The 6-3, 225-pounder was originally drafted by the Reds in the 3rd round (92nd player overall) of the 2005 draft out of Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, NC). Following a 7-0 start of his professional career with Dayton (Midwest League) in 2006, he was traded to the Twins in exchange for major league pitcher Kyle Lohse. He played parts of four seasons in the Minnesota farm systems prior to rejoining the Reds midway through the 2009 season. Over his five-year professional career, he has close to a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Northern League Stories from July 12, 2010
- Wyatt Named Northern League Player of the Week - Joliet JackHammers
- Hats, bobbleheads, Jimmy Buffett, Sean Considine, and MDA jersey auction kick off second half of sea - Rockford RiverHawks
- Goldeyes Release Hodges - Winnipeg Goldeyes
- Northern League Player And Pitcher Of The Week - NL
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