Southern League Weekly Award Winners Announced for August 19-25
August 26, 2019 - Southern League (SL1) News Release
MARIETTA, GA - The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs are excited to announce that Jackson Generals infielder Pavin Smith has been named the league's Player of the Week, while Tennessee Smokies RHP Cory Abbott has received the league's Pitcher of the Week honors. Both awards recognize these players' performances for games played during the week of August 19-25.
This marks the second time Smith has secured a Player of the Week award for Jackson, the previous coming on July 15. Smith, 23, reached base safely in all seven appearances for the Generals while adding four multi-hit games and propelling Jackson to a 5-2 overall record. He led all qualified batters last week in OPS (1.455), batting (.500), and on-base percentage (.538) while also ranking among the league leaders in hits (12, T-4th), total bases (22, 3rd), runs batted in (6, T-5th), and slugging (.917, 2nd).
With a week left in the regular season, Smith ranks among the league's best in 12 different offensive categories including hits (126, 2nd), extra-base hits (47, T-2nd), OPS (.845, 3rd), and total bases (203, 1st).
The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Smith in the first round (no. 7 overall) of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of Virginia and assigned him to Jackson prior to the start of the 2019 season. The Jupiter, Florida native was named the Southern League's Player of the Month for July.
Abbott, 23, is named Pitcher of the Week after tossing 10.0 shutout innings across two starts; combining to post a 1-0 record with nine strikeouts while allowing only four hits and a pair of walks. Among qualified pitchers with more than one start last week, Abbott's WHIP (0.60) and opponents' batting average (.118) were the lowest in the Southern League.
With just one start likely remaining in his 2019 campaign, Abbott leads the league in both innings pitched (140.2 IP) and strikeouts (156).
The Chicago Cubs selected Abbott in the second round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft out of Loyola Marymount University. The San Diego, California native is currently the Cubs no. 16 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Southern League Stories from August 26, 2019
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- Casteel, Pfeifer Named Farm Bureau Players of the Week - Mississippi Braves
- Cory Abbott Named Southern League Pitcher of the Week - Knoxville Smokies
- Southern League Weekly Award Winners Announced for August 19-25 - SL1
- Jumbo Shrimp Playoff Ticket Packages on Sale Now - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Jax Throws Well, but Blue Wahoos Fall - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Vargas Delivers in 4-1 Win as Generals Clinch Playoff Berth - Jackson Generals
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