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

It's time to look back at Week Ten and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, June 1st and continuing through Saturday, June 7th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

First my honorable mentions for the week! Those go to Oklahoma City's Kike Hernandez (.308/.308/.538); Corpus Christi's Nolan Fontana (.263/.481/.421); Quad Cities' Brett Phillips (.316/.350/.474); and Lancaster's Rio Ruiz (.333/.448/.500), Teoscar Hernandez (.323/.417/.645) and Tony Kemp .286/.444/.500). Also of particular note, Australian 1B Connor MacDonald has been thriving in June for the DSL Astros Blue team, hitting .318/.464/.500.

Looking at the numbers put up by Ruiz, Teo Hernandez and Kemp, and then adding in our two runners-up and our winner, it should be really easy to see why the Lancaster team won seven straight games to start the month. Here are my two runners-up:

1B Conrad Gregor (Lancaster)
.440/.516/.760
11R 2-2B 2HR 5BB 1SO 8RBI SF

SS Carlos Correa (Lancaster)
.381/.629/.667
11R 2-2B 2-3B 4RBI 13BB 4SO 6SB 1CS

Many might argue that Correa should be my winner with his eye-popping numbers, but one thing sets this next player apart ... hitting for the cycle gets you a leg up in the competition every time.

DH/OF Dan Gulbransen (Lancaster)
.474/.565/.842
5R 2-2B 3B HR 9RBI 3BB 4SO
Hit for the cycle on 6/5/14.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DH/OF DAN GULBRANSEN

Dan Gulbransen's Grand Slam from 5/26/14

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I literally have nine different guys that I could have picked for this and most have something that sets them apart from the others so this is probably the most subjective of my picks so far this season. I can't even decide on a runner-up so I'm going with eight honorable mentions and one winner. Honorable mentions go to Oklahoma City's Nick Tropeano and David Martinez; Corpus Christi's Kyle Smith and Tommy Shirley; Lancaster's Kyle Westwood; Quad Cities' Edison Frias; and the DSL Blue team's Joselo Pinales and Erasmo Pinales.

Our winner started the season in the bullpen and has stepped up extremely ably to fill in for those on the DL. On Friday, he pitched deep into a game for the first time this season with excellent results. For the season he has a 3.21 ERA and a 1.071 WHIP; in his four starts, he has a 2.33 ERA and a 0.983 WHIP.

RHP Jordan Jankowski (Corpus Christi) - Win
0.00 ERA/.0.545 WHIP
7.1IP 3H 1BB 7SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JORDAN JANKOWSKI

Jordan Jankowski - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

This category was a little more clear cut for me, but still several honorable mentions: Oklahoma City's Josh Zeid and Kevin Chapman; Corpus Christi's Alex Sogard and Richard Rodriguez; Lancaster's Jamaine Cotton, Daniel Minor and Juan Minaya; Quad Cities' Chris Cotton; and DSL Astros Blue team's Abdiel Saldana. I also want to send a special shoutout to Tyson Perez who is transitioning from Lancaster to Corpus Christi very nicely.

My runner-up is another Aussie playing for the DSL Blue team:

RHP Lachlan Madden (DSL Blue) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.429 WHIP
2.1IP (2 games) 1H 1BB 3SO
3 inherited runners/0 scored

My winner has shone all season long (and really should be at Oklahoma City, but nobody listens to me). For the season, he is 1-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 1.174 WHIP in 18 appearances.

LHP Patrick Urckfitz (Corpus Christi) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP
2.2IP (2 games) 1H 0BB 3SO CS
3 inherited runners/0 scored

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: LHP PATRICK URCKFITZ

Patrick Urckfitz- April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen