Southern League Names Weekly Award Winners: June 4-10
June 11, 2018 - Southern League (SL1) News Release
MARIETTA, GA - The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs are proud to announce that Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp infielder Isan Diaz has been named Player of the Week and Montgomery Biscuits starter Sam McWilliams has been named Pitcher of the Week. Both awards recognize these players' performances for games during the week of June 4-10.
Diaz, 22, earns Player of the Week honors after reaching base 20 times across 30 total plate appearances for the Jumbo Shrimp this week. Appearing in all seven games, Diaz led the Southern League with a .565 batting average (13-for-23), a .667 on-base percentage, and a 1.406 OPS. His 13 hits were the second most among all batters, and his six walks were tied for the second most in the entire league as well. The Bayamon, Puerto Rico native recorded a hit in every game this week and posted four multi-hit games.
Acquired by the Miami Marlins this past offseason in a trade that sent Christian Yelich to the Milwaukee Brewers, Diaz is currently spending his first season in the Southern League. Since being activated from the 7-Day Disabled List on May 25 Diaz has posted a .367 (18-for-49) batting average, the third best mark in the Southern League. He is currently listed as the Marlins no. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
McWilliams, also 22, receives the Pitcher of the Week nod after a pair of quality starts that resulted in two victories for Montgomery. The Orlando, Florida native went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA (2 ER/13.0 IP), allowing just nine hits and one walk while recording 15 strikeouts this week. He held opponents to a .196 (9-for-46) batting average and posted a 0.77 WHIP, the lowest mark among pitchers with two starts.
Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft out of Beech High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, McWilliams has made just four Southern League starts; including the two this past week that earned him Pitcher of the Week. He was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays on May 1 from Arizona along with former BC® Relief Pitcher of the Month Colin Poche.
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