PCL Names Player and Pitcher of the Week
Published on June 8, 2015 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1) News Release
ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Pacific Coast League announced today that Christian Villanueva of the Iowa Cubs and Tyler Lyons of the Memphis Redbirds have been named the PCL's Player and Pitcher of the Week for the period of June 1-7.
Christian Villanueva homered in four-straight games to start the week, leading to a league-high four home runs, 12 RBIs, and a .867 slugging percentage. He also led the PCL with seven extra-base hits, 26 total bases, and accumulated the second-most runs scored with nine. Villanueva became the I-Cubs' everyday first baseman Wednesday, after playing 36 games at third base to start the year. At the plate, he logged four multi-hit games this week, including one three-hit performance. In that lone three-hit game, he was a single away from hitting for the cycle during a 14-4 victory Monday at El Paso. The Chicago Cubs' No. 21 prospect ranks second on the I-Cubs this season in average (.285), home runs (seven), and RBIs (25).
The 23-year-old is in his seventh professional season and his fourth in the Cubs' farm system. Villanueva was originally signed by the Texas Rangers in 2008 out of Guadalajara, Mexico, before being traded to the Cubs on July 31, 2012, in a deal for Ryan Dempster. The Player of the Week accolade is the third of his career, with his previous coming in 2013 as a member of the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League.
Tyler Lyons went 2-0 this week and was the only pitcher in the PCL to make two starts and not allow a run. The left-hander recorded a league-best .136 opponents' average and was second in strikeouts with 13. He tossed a complete-game shutout in a seven-inning contest Monday during a doubleheader against Salt Lake. Lyons yielded just three hits and no walks in his 74-pitch outing. He followed up that performance by striking out eight batters in six scoreless innings Saturday during a 7-2 victory at Iowa. He limited the I-Cubs to three hits and one walk, while he was on the mound that day. The win improved his season record to 5-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.61. The 27-year-old has a team-high 56 strikeouts, which also ranks fifth in the PCL.
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Lyons in the ninth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of Oklahoma State University. The native of Lubbock, Texas, made his major league debut with the Cardinals in 2013, compiling 43 strikeouts in 12 appearances. He has made three starts and punched out 17 batters with St. Louis this season. Lyons now owns three Pitcher of the Week awards in his four-year career with Memphis, the most by any Redbirds pitcher in franchise history.
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