EL Somerset Patriots

Somerset C/1B Ben Rice and RHP Drew Thorpe Sweep Eastern League Monthly Awards for August

September 5, 2023 - Eastern League (EL)
Somerset Patriots News Release


Somerset Patriots pitcher Drew Thorpe
Somerset Patriots pitcher Drew Thorpe
(Somerset Patriots)

Bridgewater, New Jersey - Minor League Baseball has announced that Somerset Patriots C/1B Ben Rice and RHP Drew Thorpe have been named the Double-A Eastern League Player and Pitcher of the Month for August.

In his first full month at the Double-A level, Rice batted .345/.397/.700 and led the league in home runs (10), RBI (29), R (24), H (38), TB (77), SLG (.700) and OPS (1.097). He was fifth in batting average (.345).

He posted an 11-game hitting streak from August 10 - 23 and 11 multi-hit games, including a pair of four-hit games.

Rice, 24, was selected by the Yankees in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Dartmouth University.

Since his call up to Double-A on August 11, Thorpe has gone 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts. He allowed just four earned runs on 12 hits over 26.1 innings and finished second in the league with 39 strikeouts.

He led the league in average against (.133) and WHIP (0.65). Thorpe's 14 wins through August were the most by Minor League starters. He leads all of MiLB with 177 strikeouts on the season.

Thorpe, 22, was selected by the Yankees in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Cal-Poly.

Rice and Thorpe become the second duo in franchise Double-A history to sweep an MiLB monthly award, joining INF Diego Castillo and RHP Janson Junk (June 2021).Rice and Thorpe previously swept MiLB's Weekly Award honors together for the week of August 7-13, becoming the second Patriots to do so (INF Diego Castillo and LHP J.P. Sears, 6/1/21 - 6/6/21).

Rice and Thorpe become the second and third MiLB monthly award winners this season for Somerset, joining 3B Tyler Hardman (July). They become the eighth and ninth MiLB Award winners for the Patriots this year.

Check out the Somerset Patriots Statistics




Images from this story

Somerset Patriots catcher/first baseman Ben Rice
Somerset Patriots catcher/first baseman Ben Rice
 Somerset Patriots pitcher Drew Thorpe
Somerset Patriots pitcher Drew Thorpe
  



Eastern League Stories from September 5, 2023


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