Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week Nine

It's time to look back at Week Nine and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, May 25th and continuing through Saturday, May 31st. I'll be revealing my Players and Pitchers of the Month later today (I hope).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Yet again this week, narrowing down the list was a difficult prospect. Honorable mentions go to Oklahoma City's Jon Singleton, Ronny Torreyes and Matt Duffy; Corpus Christi's Preston Tucker; Lancaster's Carlos Correa, Rio Ruiz, Roberto Pena and Danry Vasquez; and Quad Cities' Jon Kemmer and Tyler White. In particular, I would like to single out Lancaster OF Dan Gulbransen for giving me a fun ride with his Memorial Day grand slam!

This week's runner up sneaked up on me. I knew he was having a good week, but I had no idea how good.

UT Ruben Sosa (Lancaster)
.450/.455/.850
5R 3-2B 2-3B HR 5RBI BB 6SO SB
(Sosa's HR was only the second of his career, with the first having been an inside-the-parker.)

Our winner got a leg up when he crushed home runs in four straight games over the week, the final one being a grand slam!

OF Ronnie Mitchell (Quad Cities)
.391/.423/.957
5R 2B 4HR 12RBI 2BB 7SO 2SB SF

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: OF RONNIE MITCHELL

Ronnie Mitchell - July 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Honorable mentions this week go to Oklahoma City's Rudy Owens and Paul Clemens; Corpus Christi's Tommy Shirley and Brady Rodgers; Lancaster's Kyle Westwood; and Quad Cities' Jandel Gustave. Also, I'm going to assume that Tyson Perez is probably slated as a starter in Corpus Christi (or long relief/spot starter) due to the injuries at that level; his first 3-inning outing was very impressive. Finally, Albert Abreu was the first pitching star for the Astros DSL Blue team in their season opener.

I had to go with two runners-up this week because there were some dominant performances in the minors this week. Both of the runners-up went deep into their games and both kept batters guessing.

RHP Mike Foltynewicz (Oklahoma City)
1.18 ERA/0.783 WHIP
7.2IP (1 game) 6H 1R 0BB 10SO

LHP Josh Hader (Lancaster) - Win
1.18 ERA/0.652 WHIP
7.2IP (1 game)  4H 1R 1BB 9SO CS PO

Our winner showed a little rust earlier in the season, but is now getting into a nice groove culminating in his five no-hit innings on Thursday.

RHP Michael Feliz (Quad Cities)
0.00 ERA/.0.167 WHIP
5IP 0H 1BB 8SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP MICHAEL FELIZ

Michael Feliz - July 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Lots of honorable mentions in this category as well: Corpus Christi's Alex Sogard and Patrick Urckfitz; Lancaster's Daniel Minor, J.D. Osborne and Richard Rodriguez; Quad Cities Patrick Christensen, Chris Cotton and Frederick Tiburcio; and DSL Astros Blue team pitcher Salvador Montano.

My runner-up is making a splash in his rehab appearances at Oklahoma City.

RHP Alex White (Oklahoma City) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP
4IP (3 games) 2H 0BB 3SO

My winner got off to a slow start the last two seasons, but that is NOT the case this year. He has a 0.98 ERA and a 1.157 WHIP in 17 appearances. He has collected four wins and two saves in relief.

RHP Andrew Robinson (Corpus Christi)
0.00 ERA/0.250 WHIP
4IP (2 games) 0H 1BB 3SO

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP ANDREW ROBINSON

Andrew Robinson - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen