Why don't I just give this award to George Springer? I mean he received the call to the majors, so he earned it right? Not so much.
Since this comes out on Fridays, our week consists of Friday the week before to Thursday the week of. This week is 4/11-4/17
Hitter of the Week
Two weeks of POTW, and two RedHawks carry the honors. It's hard to argue against a guy who is crushing the baseball at the highest level of the minors. This monster at the plate has hit three home runs this week (and one four in the last eight days), three doubles, AND a triple.
Yes, the power show is none other than Jon "Rarely hits singles" Singleton. He was 13 for 31 at the plate and walked an additional four times while only striking out five times. It's very exciting to see him have this kind of week early in the season after his struggles in AAA last season and his off the field issues. Talent like his should not be wasted and if this week is any indication (and I hope it is), he could be putting his best foot forward.
Pitcher of the Week
We continue to go to the ridiculous winds of Lancaster to find a Pitcher to the Week. This week, the award was a little more difficult to decide as you have pitchers having a good outing and a decent outing overlapping in the week. When several pitchers do that, it makes it hard.
But, this week I settled on Kyle Smith. He had to outings this week where he didn't give up a run. He only gave up two hits in his nine innings of work, but issued twice as many walks with four. The impressive stat was 10 strikeouts in those appearances. His walk rate has increased this season (small sample size alert), but he is missing bats and that is always a good sign.
Alright, let me have it. Am I wrong? You only get to choose one of each!