Ramsay, Lee win Astros' August honors
Outfielder James Ramsay is the Quad Cities River Bandits Player of the Month for August, and left-handed pitcher Chris Lee is the team's Pitcher of the Month, the Houston Astros announced on Thursday.
The Houston Astros Player Development Department named a Pitcher and Player of the Month at each of their four full-season affiliates, three short-season affiliates and two Dominican Summer League affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team.
Ramsay, Houston's seventh-round pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, batted .322 with three doubles, one triple, three homers, 12 RBIs, 13 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, a .368 on-base percentage, .483 slugging percentage and .851 OPS in 23 August games, earning a promotion to Lancaster on August 26. The Brandon, Fla. native finished the season leading the River Bandits in runs (70), doubles (26), stolen bases (33) and walks (59). He batted .247 with a .339 OBP, .373 SLG, .713 OPS, 10 triples, three homers and 35 RBIs.
Lee, Houston's fourth-round pick in 2011, went 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA in six August outings covering 23.2 innings. The Tampa, Fl. native fanned 18 while walking nine and giving up 24 hits. Over the second half of the season, Lee was 6-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 55.2 innings. From June 14 through July 6, Lee did not walk a batter for 14.2 straight innings, the longest for any Quad Cities pitcher this year. He finished the campaign tied for the team lead with eight wins. He lost six games and posted a 3.66 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 51 walks in 113.0 innings. The southpaw's 1.98 groundout-to-airout ratio was the best of any River Bandits starting pitcher.
Below is a list of the Players and Pitchers of the Month this season for Quad Cities:
| Month | Player | Pitcher |
|---|---|---|
| April | Brett Phillips | Gonzalo Sanudo |
| May | Brian Holberton | Jandel Gustave |
| June | Tyler White | Evan Grills |
| July | Chase McDonald | Albert Minnis |
| August | James Ramsay | Chris Lee |
Former River Bandits infielder Joe Sclafani was selected as Triple-A Oklahoma City's Player of the Month and ex-Quad Cities right-handed pitcher Jordan Jankowski grabbed Double-A Corpus Christi's Pitcher of the Month honors. Two more former Bandits, outfielder Jon Kemmer and left-handed pitcher Brian Holmes, took home the honors at Class A Advanced Lancaster. 2013 River Bandits outfielder Terrell Joyce won Short Season Class A Tri-City's Player of the Month and outfielder Alexander Melendez, who played in six August games with Quad Cities, earned his second consecutive GCL Player of the Month award.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: Having been named Ballpark Digest's winner of Best Ballpark Improvement in America under $1 million, the River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, Space Camp opened June 20; the new Drop-N-Twist debuted in July; and the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line also reopened.