Southern League Names Weekly Award Winners: April 16-22
Published on April 23, 2018 under Southern League (SL1) News Release
MARIETTA, GA - The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs are proud to announce that Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp outfielder Austin Dean has been named Player of the Week and Pensacola Blue Wahoos starter Daniel Wright has been named Pitcher of the Week. Both awards recognize these players' performances for games played during the week of April 16-22.
Dean, 24, sealed Player of the Week honors following a 3-for-5 performance Sunday afternoon against the Tennessee Smokies that saw the Texas native slug two home runs and deliver four RBIs as part of an 11-5 Jumbo Shrimp victory. For the week, Dean hit an astounding .520 (13-for-25), scoring six times and driving in another six runs. He posted 24 total bases through Jacksonville's seven games.
The Klein Collins High School product leads all of Minor League Baseball thus far with a .536 (30-for-56) batting average and 30 hits through 16 games. A fourth round pick of the Miami Marlins in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft, Dean is tied for or leads the SL in on-base percentage (.581), slugging percentage (.786), and total bases (44). His 16-game on-base streak is also the longest active streak in the SL.
Wright earned Pitcher of the Week honors following a pair of strong starts for the Blue Wahoos in which the 27-year-old tossed 13 innings and surrendered just two earned runs across five hits for a combined 1.38 ERA. The Bartlett, Tennessee native also allowed just three walks while striking out 10 total batters. In his first start at Mississippi, Wright went six innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits to earn the victory. In his second start, the Arkansas State product allowed just one hit - albeit a solo home run - across seven innings of work for a high quality start that resulted in a no-decision.
Selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 10th round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft, Wright previously pitched for Pensacola in 2016 and made his MLB debut for the Reds before being claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels in September that season. He re-signed with Cincinnati this past offseason.
Southern League Stories from April 23, 2018
- Long Ball Leads Barons to Twin Bill Split - Birmingham Barons
- Biscuits Fall Just Short in Biloxi, 5-4 - Montgomery Biscuits
- Jumbo Shrimp Edged by Smokies 2-1 - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Smokies Win Pitching Duel against Jumbo Shrimp - Knoxville Smokies
- Former BayBears Pitcher Justin Anderson Called up by Angels - Mobile BayBears
- Daniel Wright Named Southern League Pitcher of the Week - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Riley, Webb Earn Weekly Honors - Mississippi Braves
- Southern League Names Weekly Award Winners: April 16-22 - SL1
- Dean Named Southern League Player of the Week - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
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