Offensive Players of the Week

International League
Brad Eldred, Charlotte
.433 (13-30), 6 R, 6 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 9 SO, 0 SB, 1.033 SLG
If his recent play is any indication, Eldred's first season with the White Sox is beginning to take shape. Though he appeared in a handful of games with Pittsburgh last year, he struggled through a season and a half with injuries at Indianapolis. But he's with Chicago now and had a splendid run last week, which included going 8-for-16 in a home series against Toledo. He finished off that set by going 5-for-8 with three homers in the last two games. This came after collecting a pair of multi-hit games in a four-game series at Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. He raised his season average to .288, and his 11 home runs places him among the International League leaders.

Pacific Coast League
Ian Stewart, Colorado Springs
.385 (10-26), 6 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 4 SO, 1 SB, .962 SLG
Stewart's off to a solid start in his second full season in the PCL. He raised his average to .265 with his big week, while his three homers gave him nine. He had 15 all of last season for Colorado Springs. Stewart, who also had 43 at-bats for the Rockies last year, hit safely in all seven games last week -- his longest hitting streak of the season -- and put together three multiple-hit performances. Stewart's big game came at home on Wednesday against Round Rock. He had two hits, both homers, and drove in a season-high six runs. His previous high was five at Tacoma on April 22. Stewart had six hits in 14 at-bats against Round Rock.

Eastern League
Steve Tolleson, New Britain
.391 (9-23), 6 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SO, 2 SB, .783 SLG
It would seem that Tolleson has had little trouble making the jump from Class A Advanced to Double-A. His big week against Bowie and New Hampshire raised his average to .301, nearly 30 points higher than his career average in 981 at-bats entering this season. Tolleson hit safely in all six games he played in during the week, collecting a trio of multiple-hit games. He also had an RBI in five consecutive games, including a season-high four-RBI effort at New Hampshire to close out the week. He fanned only once, and his 16 whiffs keep him on pace to fall below the 97 he collected last season at Fort Myers in the Florida State League.

Southern League
Rusty Ryal, Mobile
.440 (11-25), 9 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB
The former 14th-round selection (2005) had a big production week, nearly equaling his entire 2007 Southern League home run total in seven games. He had six homers in 168 at-bats with Mobile last year. He has five this season in 121 at-bats, thanks mainly to his efforts last week against Huntsville and Jacksonville. Ryal had three homers and nine RBIs in five games at Hunstville, collecting eight hits over that stretch. He opened the series against the Stars by going three-for-four with two doubles, a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored. Ryal also scored three runs twice, Saturday at home against Jacksonville and Thursday at Huntsville. He also hit a homer in the series opener against the Suns and had three hits in six at-bats in the finale.

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Shane Robinson, Springfield
.652 (15-23), 5 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 SO, 3 SB
It would have been tough for Robinson to do much more than he did last week as he hit safely in all six games to raise his .434 season average, which ranks second in the Minor Leagues behind Las Vegas' Terry Tiffee (.439). He began the week with a trio of three-hit games, two at home against Arkansas and one on the road at Northwest Arkansas. Robinson "cooled off" to close out the week, collecting a trio of two-hit games against the Naturals. The fifth-rounder from the 2006 Draft has an on-base percentage of .469, while his OPS is 1.097.

California League
Thomas Giles, Inland Empire
.400 (10-25), 5 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, .840 SLG
Giles put up some great numbers in the Midwest League last year, but struggled in 25 games he played for Jacksonville in the Double-A Southern League. So this season, the Dodgers decided to split the difference and send him to the California League. The hitter's haven seems to be more to his liking. Giles had a strong road trip, hitting in five of the six games at Rancho Cucamonga and Lancaster. He had a monstrous game on Saturday, collecting four hits, including two homers, and nine RBIs against Lancaster. He also had a double and scored four runs. Though he came back the next day and went hitless in three at-bats, the former eighth-round pick (2006) did collect another RBI, leaving his season average at a very respectable .282.

Carolina League
Matt Wieters, Frederick
.421 (8-19), 9 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SO, 0 SB, .895 SLG
The fifth overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft continues to show that he may not be long for the Carolina League. He hit in every game last week, and was riding a nine-game hitting streak heading into Monday's action. The barrage has raised his season average to .355, which is second in the league behind Lynchburg's Jim Negrych (.402). Wieters' big game for the week came on Friday at Lynchburg, when he went three-for-four with two homers and three RBIs. He scored three runs in that game and added a homer the following day to keep his hitting streak alive. Wieters also leads the circuit in throwing out attempted base stealers (41 percent). Overall, he has a .983 fielding percentage.

Florida State League
John Urick, Clearwater
.421 (8-19), 3 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, .895 SLG
At the end of April, Urick received his first taste of Double-A after six years in the Minor Leagues. He collected two hits in his debut in Reading, and played just three more games before being sent back down to Clearwater. One can bet that if Urick continues playing as he did last week, Reading will soon be his full-time home. Urick hit safely in all five games on the week, collecting an extra-base hit in four of them. On Saturday, Urick doubled and homered, and his third home run of the season proved to be the go-ahead run in the Threshers 7-6 win over Jupiter. Urick has been the Threshers' choice in all close and late situations this season, as the first baseman is 8-for-21 with runners on and two outs.

Midwest League
Sean Coughlin, South Bend
.429 (9-21), 3 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 SB, .905 SLG
Coughlin had offseason knee surgery that kept him in extended Spring Training until the beginning of this month, but he's jumped into the Midwest league with a vengeance. Not only did he hit in all five games he appeared in last week, he's hit in all seven games he's played since joining South Bend. The University of Kentucky product really got it going last week, putting together three multiple-hit games, including a 3-for-5 effort with a homer and three RBIs at home against Clinton on Tuesday. The next day he had two hits and four RBIs against Fort Worth. The 13th-round selection from last year's Draft has only struck out once this season in 25 at-bats. He's also negotiated only four walks, simply because he keeps getting hits.

South Atlantic League
Michael Taylor, Lakewood
.368 (7-19), 4 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, 1.105 SLG
Taylor hit in all four games he played in, raising his season average to .333, clearly an encouraging start this season after he hit .227 in 233 at-bats last year in the Class A Short-Season New York-Penn League. Taylor made his hits count, too, collecting a homer in each of the four games, driving in three runs twice against Lexington and once at Kannapolis. He closed out the week by hitting a homer and driving in two at Kannapolis. Taylor, whom the Phillies chose in the fifth round last year out of Stanford, has a five-game hitting streak heading into Monday's action.